Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have devised a new type of injection to grant long-term protection from pregnancy without the need for medical procedures or pills. The DIY jab contains microscopic crystals that assemble under the skin, releasing hormones that stop a woman from releasing an egg for fertilisation.
Currently, contraceptive implants last for years but the device needs to be fitted inside a woman by a trained professional via a surgical procedure. Similarly, contraceptive injections only pause pregnancy for three months. The new injection aims to solve both issues and although it hasn’t been tested on humans, scientists are optimistic about its effectiveness.
The drug release in rats sustained for at least 97 days with scientists claiming there was potential for longer durations, depending on formulation adjustments.
“Specifically, in applications such as contraception, SLIM’s (self-aggregating long-acting injectable microcrystals) capability for prolonged drug release could dramatically reduce the frequency of administration compared with current self-administrable options,” the study, published in the journal, Nature Chemical Engineering highlighted.
As per Dr Giovanni Traverso, a co-author of the study, the main challenge was making a solution that could be comfortably injected by a patient at home.
“Our engineering challenge was finding a way to maximise comfort for patients by using smaller needles, which cause less bruising or bleeding,” said Dr Traverso.
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He added that innovation has the potential to be a convenient option for individuals in low-resource settings where consuming pills daily or getting contraception devices fitted was not possible.
“We anticipate that SLIM [the injection] could be a new addition to the current suite of family planning options available to women, especially for people in low-resource settings where options for contraception and health care facilities are limited,” he added
The researchers are also hopeful that the DIY jab can be used for other drugs where long-acting delivery is needed viz., HIV, TB, schizophrenia, chronic pain and metabolic diseases.
“This is a very simple system in that it’s basically a solvent, the drug, and then you can add a little bit of bioresorbable polymer. Now we’re considering which indications do we go after: Is it contraception? Is it others? These are some of the things that we’re starting to look into as part of the next steps toward translation to humans,” Dr Traverso said.
Building on the success, the researchers are now moving toward assessing its impact on humans by conducting advanced preclinical studies to evaluate self-assembly in a more clinically relevant skin environment.