Oscillatory system to deliver drugs

Future drug delivery devices could use microscopic chemical reactions to release medication at target areas in the body.

The technology could be the result of a five-year Newcastle University research project that will attempt to develop applications for oscillatory chemistry.

Oscillatory chemistry, first discovered in the 1950s, is more visually distinctive than most chemical reactions.

Scientists found that mixing certain compounds together will create rings that move in rhythmic wave patterns and oscillate back and forth between coloured states.

Katarina Novakovic, the leader of the Newcastle research, said that a couple of years ago it was discovered that oscillations could be instigated by subjecting a chemical reaction to a specific pH level or temperature.

The Newcastle researchers have re-demonstrated this with an oscillatory system that includes a palladium iodide catalyst, potassium iodide, oxygen, sodium acetate, methanol and phenylacetylene.

The team believes that such an oscillatory system could be chemically bonded onto a smart polymer gel and used for drug delivery devices.