Electronic Drugs: Spatial and Temporal Medical Treatment of Human Diseases

Chihyeong Won, Chaebeen Kwon, Kijun Park, Jungmok Seo, Taeyoon Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recent advances in diagnostics and medicines emphasize the spatial and temporal aspects of monitoring and treating diseases. However, conventional therapeutics, including oral administration and injection, have difficulties meeting these aspects due to physiological and technological limitations, such as long-term implantation and a narrow therapeutic window. As an innovative approach to overcome these limitations, electronic devices known as electronic drugs (e-drugs) have been developed to monitor real-time body signals and deliver specific treatments to targeted tissues or organs. For example, ingestible and patch-type e-drugs could detect changes in biomarkers at the target sites, including the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the skin, and deliver therapeutics to enhance healing in a spatiotemporal manner. However, medical treatments often require invasive surgical procedures and implantation of medical equipment for either short or long-term use. Therefore, approaches that could minimize implantation-associated side effects, such as inflammation and scar tissue formation, while maintaining high functionality of e-drugs, are highly needed. Herein, the importance of the spatial and temporal aspects of medical treatment is thoroughly reviewed along with how e-drugs use cutting-edge technological innovations to deal with unresolved medical challenges. Furthermore, diverse uses of e-drugs in clinical applications and the future perspectives of e-drugs are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2005930
JournalAdvanced Materials
Volume33
Issue number47
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021 Nov 25

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Materials Science(all)
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Electronic Drugs: Spatial and Temporal Medical Treatment of Human Diseases'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this