Traverso looked to cephalopods, such as squid, which push ink and water in all directions using strong pressure. He hypothesized that a similar system could be used to push drugs through the soft tissues of the digestive tract without having to worry about the angle of insertion. In collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and researchers in Boston and Stockholm, the team created small spring-loaded devices capable of releasing jets of drug at high speeds.
To test the idea, the researchers filled the devices with a green dye and tested them on digestive tissue from pigs and dogs. Under the microscope, they saw that the dye was able to whatsapp number list penetrate the mucous layer of the tissues, even when the jet angle was less than 70 degrees, proving the technique was effective.
They then developed two versions of the devices for testing on live animals. The first, which resembles a small lunar lander, is designed to spray the drug when it comes into contact with the stomach wall. The second, designed for tighter spaces like the esophagus, is a cylinder that ejects the drug sideways.
The devices were tested with drugs such as insulin and an analogue of GLP-1, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. Inserted into the digestive tracts of pigs, the devices were shown to successfully deliver the drug to various areas, such as the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. The results were published in the journal Nature.