Transdermal drug delivery using spring-powered jet injection has been studied for several decades and continues to be highly sought after due to the advent of targeted needle-free techniques, especially for viscous and complex fluids. As such, this paper reports results from numerical simulations to study the role of fluid rheology and cartridge geometry on characteristics such as jet exit velocity, total pressure drop and boundary layer thickness, since these all factor in to jet stability and collimation. The numerical approach involves incompressible steady flow with turbulence modelling based on the system Reynolds number at the orifice (Re = ρdovj/μ). The results are experimentally validated for a given geometry over a wide range of Reynolds numbers (101 < Re < 104), and our results indicate a sharp decrease in dimensionless pressure drop (Eu = 2∆P/ρvj2) for Re < 102) and gradually approaching the inviscid limit at Re ≥ 104. By extending the study to non-Newtonian fluids, whose rheological profile is approximated by the Carreau model, we also elucidated the effect of different rheological parameters. Lastly by studying a range of nozzle geometries such as conical, sigmoid taper and multi-tier tapers, we observe that fluid acceleration suppresses the boundary layer growth, which indicates there may be optimal geometries for creating jets to target specific tissue depths.

Embolization therapy is an attractive strategy for antitumor therapy, especially for solid tumors. In vivo self-coagulation behavior holds great potential in a new type of tumor embolization therapy. However, spatiotemporal controllable in situ formation of thrombus in tumor is a challenge. Herein, an ultrasound (US)-responsive ultra-sensitive “thrombus constructor” (UUNC), which was prepared by loading thrombin into a nanobubble, and modified with NGR peptide on its surface, is rational designed for tumor embolization therapy. Benefiting from the targeting ability of NGR peptides to tumor neovascularization, UUNC efficiently enriched in tumor vessels, and then released thrombin rapidly to form thrombi in situ of tumor blood vessels in the presence of US. In vivo antitumor experiments demonstrated that UUNC could significantly lead to tumor cell apoptosis and necrosis, and the tumor growth inhibition rate (TGI) was 85.3% with a transient US in tumor, while maintain high stability, and no obvious thrombus was observed in normal tissues. UUNC holds an attractive potential for tumor embolization therapy via spatiotemporal controllable thrombus construct strategy.

The rapid rise in interest in ‘nanomedicines’ in the academic world over the last twenty years and the claims of success led to calls for reflection. The main body of text of this Commentary will be on answering the question: ‘where to go with nanomedicines’? Research priorities for the future will be outlined based on experience with the most successful nanomedicines family within the broad field of nanomedicine so far: liposomes. An analysis of currently clinically tested, approved and marketed liposome-drug combinations provide these insights.