Drug origami: A computation-guided approach for customizable drug release kinetics of oral formulations

Abstract

Despite the prolonged therapeutic benefits offered by many existing extended-release oral drug formulations, their inability to conform to circadian rhythms and specific pathological profiles remains a critical limitation. Here, we report drug origami, a computation-guided, origami-inspired approach for modulating the drug release kinetics of oral formulations. By harnessing the precise folding patterns of origami, the drug origami demonstrates characteristics of pulsatile and multiphasic release that can be tailored to match specific medication regimens. By employing computational models guided by control equations, both in vitro and in vivo drug release kinetics can be predicted and modulated with good quantitative agreement. This and other evidence suggest drug origami to be “do-it-yourself” drugs in personalized medicine where patients can create their own formulations according to individual medical needs.