Carbon Monoxide Liquid Delivery for Sickle Cell Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for delivering carbon monoxide (CO) as a therapeutic agent face challenges such as toxicity concerns with transition metal carriers and hemoglobin tetramers, inconvenient pulmonary delivery, and limited solubility in aqueous solutions, making it difficult to achieve therapeutic levels safely and conveniently for treating diseases like sickle cell disease.
Innovation Solution
A method involving dissolving or entrapping CO in a liquid composition, which is administered via the gastrointestinal tract or intravenously, allowing for systemic delivery of therapeutic amounts of CO without the need for complex carriers or inhalation, using high pressure and low temperature to increase solubility, and incorporating complex components like proteins and lipids to enhance CO concentration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If carbon monoxide is delivered via pulmonary inhalation, then therapeutic CO levels can be achieved, but patient convenience and compliance deteriorate due to the need for breathing apparatus and mobility restrictions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses liquid carriers (water, aqueous solutions, or beverages) as intermediaries to deliver CO systemically through GI tract or IV administration, replacing the direct pulmonary inhalation route. This mediator approach allows CO to be transported through the bloodstream to target tissues without requiring patient inhalation effort or mobility restrictions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical act of inhalation and breathing apparatus with a passive liquid administration system. Instead of requiring patients to actively breathe CO-containing gas through restrictive equipment, the CO is delivered dissolved in liquid that can be orally consumed or intravenously infused, substituting mechanical respiratory effort with a simpler administration method.
2Quantity of substance
If transition metal carriers or hemoglobin tetramers are used to deliver CO, then therapeutic delivery can be achieved, but toxicity concerns worsen due to the inherent toxicity of these carriers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts CO from its traditional toxic carrier molecules (transition metals and hemoglobin tetramers) and delivers it in a purified, carrier-free state dissolved in simple liquid vehicles. This extraction removes the harmful components while retaining the therapeutic CO, delivering only the active ingredient without the associated toxicity of complex carriers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs simple, non-toxic, biocompatible liquid carriers (water, aqueous solutions, beverages) that are safe for human consumption and elimination, replacing expensive and toxic metal-based carriers. These simple liquid vehicles are inherently safe, readily metabolized or eliminated, and do not accumulate in the body like metal carriers.
3Ease of operation
If CO is dissolved in aqueous solutions at ambient conditions, then simple administration is possible, but CO solubility deteriorates making it difficult to achieve therapeutic levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by dissolving CO in liquids under elevated pressure and/or reduced temperature conditions during preparation, then maintaining these enhanced concentration levels through sealed containment. By altering the physical parameters (pressure, temperature) during formulation, the patent achieves supersaturated CO concentrations in the liquid that remain stable until administration, overcoming the limited ambient solubility of CO in water.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables safe and convenient delivery of therapeutic CO levels, reducing the frequency and severity of sickle cell crises and other disease symptoms, while avoiding toxicity and improving patient compliance through oral or IV administration.
Implementation Method 1
dissolving or entrapping CO in a liquid composition, which is administered via the gastrointestinal tract or intravenously, allowing for systemic delivery of therapeutic amounts of CO without the need for complex carriers or inhalation, using high pressure and low temperature to increase solubility
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides compositions and methods for delivering carbon monoxide (CO) to subjects suffering from inflammatory, cardiovascular, Sickle Cell, and other disease. The compositions are liquids, including Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids, such as pastes, gels, foams, emulsions, and other non-gaseous compositions, in which CO is dissolved at an amount that, when administered to a patient, provides a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of CO to the patient. The compositions can be provided in many forms, including in bottles or cans.