Researchers at MIT have developed a nanoparticle drug-delivery system that can be taken orally and absorbed through the digestive tract. The new nanoparticles are coated with antibodies that act as a key to unlock receptors found on the surfaces of cells that line the intestine; this allows the nanoparticles to break through the intestinal walls and enter the bloodstream. To build nanoparticles that can selectively break through the intestine barrier, the researchers took advantage of previous work that revealed how babies absorb antibodies to boost their immune defenses. Those antibodies grab onto a cell surface receptor called the FcRN, granting them access through the cells of the intestinal lining into adjacent blood vessels.
Source: web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/nonoparticle-pills-1127.html
