This invention is a nanostraw device that is built upon microdevice technology for oral drug delivery. It is the first example of a microdevice for oral drug delivery, with the drug sealed in by a semi-permeable membrane for (1) in-solution drug loading, and tunable drug release, (2) increased bioadhesion for prolonged drug exposure, and (3) protection of drug from outside biomolecules.

This invention describes a first-of-a-kind methodology using micro- and nanofabrication techniques to create polymeric microscale devices that are asymmetrically coated with nanowires. The nanowire coating provides an inherent high-throughput, low-waste drug loading mechanism, enhanced cytoadhesion, and may potentially interact with epithelial tissue to enhance drug permeation.

A major challenge in developing effective therapies is getting the drug to the right place at the right time.  A variety of drug administration paradigms have been developed in an attempt to overcome this issue of bioavailability, but each is susceptible to one or more hurdles including drug aggregation, inability to target the drug to the organ or tissue of interest, and inefficient permeation and subsequent clearance of the drug once it arrives at the target site.  Furthermore, the treatment of some conditions such as cancer, AIDS, and malaria require drug “cocktails” that involve complicated dosing regimens for each individual therapeutic.  As a result of these issues, patients oftentimes are receiving complicated or ineffective treatments at elevated costs due to the loss of precious drug substance.  The development of microdevices and the methods of customizing them to provide independent and controlled delivery of multiple drugs could transform the current standard of care.