LAUSR

Drug Delivery An improved remedy for osteoarthritis could involve localized delivery of an agent to the affected joints to reduce the disease progression, rather than the current use of systemic or local delivery of drugs that only treat the symptoms. Maudens et al. explored the potential for long-term delivery of kartogenin, a pathway activator that enhances articular cartilage protection, by combining two ideas for slow drug release. Using wet milling, they prepared nanocrystals of kartogenin, which dissolve over time, and then embedded them in biodegradable polymer microparticles. The drug-loaded particles were tested in vitro with human synoviocytes and in vivo in a mouse model, in which prolonged delivery and bioactivity of kartogenin were observed. Small 10.1002/smll.201703108 (2018).