Science 363, 611–615 (2019)

A self-orientating millimeter-scale applicator (SOMA) is able to directly apply pharmaceutical agents to the stomach lining, allowing for efficient delivery of routinely injected therapeutics.

Healthcare professionals and patients alike consider swallowing a medication preferable to injecting it, but for biological products such as insulin, the challenging nature of the gastrointestinal tract limits the bioavailability of therapeutics delivered this way. The stomach lining is thought to be a better route of entry.

Researchers from Cambridge, Massachusetts, developed a SOMA that is modelled on the self-orientating leopard tortoise. They test its ability to administer insulin to pigs and find that the SOMA locates and penetrates the stomach lining, resulting in a therapeutic dose of insulin. This suggests that this technology could replace injections.