As the world is returning to normal after the pandemic new methods to potentially improve injection of drugs into the body have increased in value. When a drug, like a vaccine, is injected into a body it is put in a muscle, so it is able to slowly go into the blood stream. The allows for the slower delivery of drugs and can also lower level of potential risk of being toxic to the patient. This allows for a safer vaccine and reduces potential side effects.
Camila is working on a group of molecules called elastin-like polypeptides. These molecules are naturally occurring and can be found in beans. These are a large amount of elastin repeated. This structure allows for some interesting properties. It is able to be a liquid at room temperature but once it is injected into the body it is able to form a solid block in the tissue. This allows for the drugs that in the ELP to diffuse into the blood stream even slower reducing any potential allergic reaction. One potential issue with ELP drug delivery is that ELP themselves could be a potential allergen. The because of the ELP structure it has to potential for itself to become an allergen, but this has yet to be tested and animal trials would likely need to be done. Camila’s research was interesting to me because of the potential real world implication that this research can provide. I believe being able to see the direct application of research is incredible important.
