Proof of Concept: Miracle Drug Encapsulation
For certain drugs to be administered successfully, polymer encapsulations are necessary.Copyright 2016 Megan Ketchum, College of Engineering, University of Houston
Students experience the engineering design process as they design, fabricate, test and redesign their own methods for encapsulation of a (hypothetical) new miracle drug. As if they are engineers, teams make large-size prototypes to test proof of concept. They use household materials (tape, paper towels, plastic wrap, weed-barrier fabric, glues, etc.) to attach a coating to a porous "shell" (a perforated plastic Wiffle® ball) containing the medicine (colored drink mix powder). The objective is to delay the drug release by a certain time and have a long release duration—patterned after the timed release requirements of many real-world pharmaceuticals that are released from a polymer shell via diffusion in the body. Guided by a worksheet, teams go through at least three design/test iterations, aiming to achieve a solution close to the target time release constraints.
Engineers use polymers in encapsulation designs to facilitate the administration of drugs made of high molecular weight molecules. Students act as biomedical and chemical engineers following the steps of the engineering design process to design, test and improve drug encapsulation prototypes using representative materials.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe the steps of the engineering design process and the value of testing and redesign.
- Explain how diffusion works for their prototypes.
- Elaborate on the importance of design considerations for engineers.