Implants that deliver a drug to just the right place in the body could become "biobatteries" that release the drug at exactly the right rate.rnAt present, it is difficult to control how quickly implants release their payload. The biobattery produces a current of a known strength, and it is this that controls the drug's release.rnThe smart implant is based on magnesium alloy stents that are being developed for surgeons to use as temporary splints to keep damaged blood vessels in shape while they heal. Magnesium is used because it will corrode away inside the body safely when the stent's job is done.rnA team led by Gordon Wallace of the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia, made use of this to make a biobattery from a magnesiumrnalloy anode and a conducting polymer cathode that carried an anti-inflammatory drug. They immersed the device in an electrolyte to simulate the body fluids around a real implant.
展开▼
