A Charles Darwin University researcher has said he and a colleague have come up with a “gel-like casing” for tablets that make them an alternative to injections for vaccinations and the treatment of many chronic diseases.

Pharmaceutical scientist Dr Nazim Nassar said he and RMIT biophysicist Professor Stefan Kasapis have filed an application in the US patent office for their so so-called hydrogel ball technology.

Dr Nassar said he focuses on using naturally occurring chemical compounds, such as those in proteins and plants, as an alternative to human-made synthetic compounds, and said the hydrogel ball could replace injections to deliver anticancer, antimicrobial, and immune system-modifying remedies, and reduce the need to keep the treatment cool in a fridge over time.

“For example, patients treated for blindness caused by proliferative diabetic retinopathy, currently, they have to have an injection into their eye. This certainly isn’t the most tolerable experience,” he said.

“There are also many challenges with managing and administering treatments in the pharmacy, including a high equipment cost, the requirement for healthcare staff to supervise, and patients disliking or fearing needles, even though this is the most effective way of delivering the treatment.”

“Not to mention that refrigeration is necessary during storage and transport, which certainly increases medication cost, and limits storage room. Pharmacies could be like supermarket cold storage areas in ten years with the number of treatments that need to be kept cold.”

Dr Nassar, who published a paper on hydrogels in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics last year with Professor Kasapis, said reducing the strain on the healthcare system and its staff, also cuts sector and government funding costs, which could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars redistributed to other medical areas for both patients and professionals.

“The demand for biological medicines, known for their treatments with fewer side effects and less resistance against them by cancerous cells, for example, is growing with the increasing global prevalence of chronic conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases,” he said.

“Our ageing population is also growing, and so is the prevalence of associated health issues, so the healthcare system needs more ways to ensure treatment is efficient and effective as much as possible.”

He their study showed that using the hydrogel as a carrier controls the drug’s release at the most effective site for absorption in the intestine. The next stage of research is animal trials to determine how vaccines diffuse in the intestine and activate the immune system.

“When the gel expands in the small intestine, it allows water inside. This then transports the biological medicine out of the gel into the small intestine and then enters the bloodstream,” he said.

“The hydrogel can withstand temperatures up to 40 degrees celsius and an acidity of pH 2.4, which means it protects biological medicines, such as insulin, from stomach acidity.

“So, this method of drug delivery is more specific and effective. It can handle high temperatures and acidities, has fewer side effects, and doesn’t break down as quickly. This hydrogel could encase all sorts of vaccines and other drug delivery methods that can be taken orally.”