The first triboelectric-nanogenerator (TENG)-based self-powered implantable drug-delivery system is presented. Pumping flow rates from 5.3 to 40 µL min under different rotating speeds of the TENG are realized. The implantable drug-delivery system can be powered with a TENG device rotated by human hand motion. Ex vivo trans-sclera drug delivery in porcine eyes is demonstrated by utilizing the biokinetic energies of human hands.

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Despite the advancements made in drug delivery systems over the years, many challenges remain in drug delivery systems for treating chronic diseases at the personalized medicine level. The current urgent need is to develop novel strategies for targeted therapy of chronic diseases. Due to their unique properties, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has been recently engineered as implantable drug delivery systems for disease therapy. This review examines the challenges faced in implementing implantable MEMS drug delivery systems in vivo and the solutions available to overcome these challenges.

Individualized disease treatment is a promising branch for future medicine. In this work, we introduce an implantable microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based drug delivery device for programmable drug delivery. An in vitro study on cancer cell treatment has been conducted to demonstrate a proof-of-concept that the engineered device is suitable for individualized disease treatment. This is the first study to demonstrate that MEMS drug delivery devices can influence the outcome of cancer drug treatment through the use of individualized disease treatment regimes, where the strategy for drug dosages is tailored according to different individuals. The presented device is electrochemically actuated through a diaphragm membrane and made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for biocompatibility using simple and cost-effective microfabrication techniques. Individualized disease treatment was investigated using the in vitro programmed delivery of a chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin, to pancreatic cancer cell cultures. Cultured cell colonies of two pancreatic cancer cell lines (Panc-1 and MiaPaCa-2) were treated with three programmed schedules and monitored for 7 days. The result shows that the colony growth has been successfully inhibited for both cell lines among all the three treatment schedules. Also, the different observations between the two cell lines under different schedules reveal that MiaPaCa-2 cells are more sensitive to the drug applied. These results demonstrate that further development on the device will provide a promising novel platform for individualized disease treatment in future medicine as well as for automatic in vitro assays in drug development industry.

The development of microfluidics technology has enabled the biomedical research community to create novel strategies for applications ranging from diagnostics to therapy of various human diseases. Recent advances in microfluidic technology will aid in providing new sets of solutions to overcome the shortcomings of conventional detection and treatment methods available in clinics and hospitals.Microfluidic technology is equipped with the ability to precisely control and manipulate fluids and allow medical researchers to engineer a translational medicine platform for rapid biological sample analysis and controlled drug delivery therapy. In addition, the dimensions of microfluidic device can be miniaturized to a desirable size thereby offering the convenience of embedded implant treatment. These unique features of microfluidic technology are valuable assets for advancing individualized medicine plans such as new treatment protocols and diagnosis approaches. Individualized medicine research has been recently explored for applications such as point-of-care testing and individualized drug therapy. By carefully fusing microfluidic technology into these applications, we would be able to improve the effectiveness in detecting biomolecules and monitoring drug delivery profiles in vivo. In this review, we report and discuss the recent development, advancement, and future trends of using microfluidic technology for individualized diagnosis and therapy studies in vitro and in vivo.