3D Polyhedral Biocontainers for RF Shielded Drug Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional silicon-based microfabrication is limited to two-dimensional processes, making it difficult to fabricate three-dimensional medical devices, which are necessary for enhanced interaction with biological media and improved therapeutic delivery due to their larger surface area and ability to encapsulate cells and drugs effectively.
Innovation Solution
Development of microscale or nanoscale particles with a hollow, polyhedral shape formed by folding two-dimensional faces, featuring a fillable center chamber and patterned with perforations for controlled release, fabricated from materials like metals, polymers, or semiconductors, allowing for remote guidance and non-invasive tracking using magnetic resonance imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional silicon-based microfabrication is used, then manufacturing precision and reproducibility are improved, but the ability to fabricate three-dimensional systems deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from conventional two-dimensional silicon-based microfabrication to three-dimensional microstructured particles. This is achieved by forming hollow polyhedral structures with multiple faces that can be patterned and functionalized in three dimensions, enabling encapsulation of cells and drugs while maintaining manufacturing precision through controlled fabrication processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates hollow microstructured particles with nested architectures - a hollow interior chamber that can be filled with therapeutic agents, cells, or drugs, surrounded by a patterned shell structure. This nesting approach enables compact three-dimensional packaging while maintaining precision in the outer structural layers.
2Area of moving object
If three-dimensional microstructured particles are fabricated, then surface area to volume ratio and encapsulation capability are improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the microstructured particle into multiple discrete faces or segments of a polyhedral shape. Each face can be independently patterned with perforations or functional features, allowing the complex three-dimensional structure to be manufactured through modular fabrication processes that build up the structure face by face.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates porous or perforated structures in the walls of the hollow particles and on their surfaces. This porosity increases the effective surface area for interactions with biological media while the patterns can be created through controlled etching or fabrication processes, balancing manufacturing feasibility with enhanced functional surface area.
3Adaptability or versatility
If hollow polyhedral particles with patterned faces are fabricated, then therapeutic delivery and encapsulation capability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal hollow polyhedral particle platform that can serve multiple functions: encapsulation of cells or drugs, delivery vehicle for therapeutic agents, and diagnostic carrier. The standardized polyhedral geometry with patterned faces provides a versatile platform that can be adapted for different therapeutic applications without requiring entirely new device designs for each use case.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates dynamic features such as controllable release mechanisms through patterned perforations or pores that can be activated under specific conditions. The particle structure allows for controlled release of encapsulated contents while maintaining structural integrity, enabling dynamic therapeutic delivery rather than static encapsulation.
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
The three-dimensional particles enable efficient encapsulation and delivery of therapeutic agents, such as cells and drugs, with controlled release and non-invasive tracking, overcoming the limitations of two-dimensional microfabrication and enhancing therapeutic efficacy and diagnostic capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
The particles shield the oscillating magnetic fields in MM that arise from radio frequency (RF) pulses and magnetic field gradients in an imaging sequence. This shielding occurs as a result of eddy currents generated in the frame of the particle that induce a local magnetic field, which interferes destructively with the external magnetic field.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a nanoscale or microscale particle for encapsulation and delivery of materials or substances, including, but not limited to, cells, drugs, tissue, gels and polymers contained within the particle, with subsequent release of the therapeutic materials in situ, methods of fabricating the particle by folding a 2D precursor into the 3D particle, and the use of the particle in in-vivo or in-vitro applications. The particle can be in any polyhedral shape and its surfaces can have either no perforations or nano/microscale perforations. The particle is coated with a biocompatible metal, e g gold, or polymer e g parvlene, layer and the surfaces and hinges of the particle are made of any metal or polymer combinations.