Delivering Drugs Through History
From clay lozenges to the first drug-eluting coronary stent, drug delivery methods have evolved through history.
e-mail
print
500 B.C.On the Mediterranean island of Lemnos, hand-shaped clay lozenges were prescribed for a variety of conditions. |
 THE GRANGER COLLECTION |
1656British polymath Sir Christopher Wren used a quill attached to a small bladder to inject dogs with opium, then experimented on humans. |
 Wellcome Library, London |
1830sFrench physicians implanted pellets of morphine and other drugs beneath the skin with darning needles. |
1843British inventor William Brockedon received a patent for manufacturing pills by placing dry medicinal ingredients in a die and hammering the powder into a tablet. |
 Wellcome Library, London |
1855Edinburgh physician Alexander Wood published the first paper on subcutaneous injection of drugs using a hypodermic syringe with plungers made of leather or asbestos. |
Early 1950sPharmacist Howard Press created the first time-release drug—Nitroglyn—for patients with angina. Multiple coatings on drug pellets placed in a capsule dissolved at different rates, keeping a concentration of the drug in the body longer. |
 Annie Cavanaugh, Wellcome Images |
1972Tiny lipid bubbles called liposomes were first proposed as drug carriers; researchers surmised that they would slip more easily through tumors’ leaky vessels and into cancerous tissue to deliver their payload. |
1981
The first transdermal patch contained an anti-motion-sickness drug that was absorbed by the skin directly into the circulation, bypassing the liver’s filter.
1980s
Engineer Robert Langer developed a device using polymers that, once implanted in the brain, slowly released drugs to kill cancer cells without toxicity to the rest of the body.
 Mark Peterson/Corbis |
1991Birth-control device Norplant was introduced. Implanted under the skin, it consists of six silicone rubber tubes that release a continuous dose of the hormone levonorgestrel. |
 © Collection CNRI / Phototake, Inc. |
2003The first drug-eluting coronary stent, which slowly releases a medication to keep coronary arteries open after angioplasty, was approved by the FDA. |
