A micromotor pill was developed at the University of California San Diego as a platform for in vivo oral delivery of pharmaceuticals. The self-propelled microscopic devices are encapsulated into pills layered with a protective coating.

The pill’s coating protects the devices as they travel the digestive system prior to releasing their drug cargo. Source: University of California San DiegoPast research demonstrated that the use of antibiotic-coated micromotors was more effective in treating ulcers in laboratory mice relative to administering the drugs alone. However, contact with gastric acid and other body fluids triggered early release of the medicinal cargo. The micromotors were also prone to getting trapped in the esophagus when administered orally in fluids.

A pill composed of lactose and maltose and housing tens of thousands of micromotors was designed to overcome early premature release and mobility problems. The sugar coating protects the devices as they traverse the digestive system prior to releasing their payload. The micromotors are based on a magnesium/titanium dioxide core loaded with a fluorescent dye cargo.

In vivo studies with the mouse model show that the micromotor pill platform effectively protects and carries the active micromotors to the stomach, enabling their release in a concentrated manner. The micromotor encapsulation and the inactive materials exert no effects on the motion of the released micromotors.

Combining the advantages of traditional pills with the efficient movement of micromotors offers a feasible route for administrating micromotors for potential in vivo biomedical applications.