🔆 Temperature Shocks Could Aid Drug Delivery
📍 Why in News?
🟢 Scientists at Raman Research Institute (RRI) found that temperature shocks can make jammed materials temporarily flow by erasing memory imprints, with potential applications in drug delivery.
📍 What are Jammed Systems?
🟢 In densely packed materials, particles cannot move freely, producing a jammed/glass-like state.
🟢 These systems can retain a memory of the path through which they reached a particular state.
🟢 Structural recovery is the process through which such systems rearrange towards a minimum-energy configuration.
📍 The Study
🟢 Researchers used microgel particles, which can absorb 300–500 times their weight in water.
🟢 The system showed asymmetric behaviour during heating and cooling, demonstrating its path-dependent nature.
🟢 A sudden change in temperature rate (thermal shock) caused particle rearrangement, temporarily making the jammed system liquid-like and reducing its memory.
📍 Significance for Drug Delivery
🟢 Microgels can swell at lower temperatures and hold drugs.
🟢 Above about 34°C, they can collapse and release the medicine.
🟢 Better control over structural recovery could help achieve controlled and targeted drug delivery, potentially reducing side effects.
📍 Other Applications
🟢 Absorbent materials such as diapers
🟢 Temperature-responsive medical coatings
🟢 Materials that mimic biological systems
📍 Future Research
🟢 Researchers will examine how mechanical shocks influence jammed systems and compare them with thermal shocks.
📍 About RRI
🟢 Raman Research Institute is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
📍 UPSC Mains Question
“Smart materials that respond to external stimuli have significant applications in healthcare. Discuss their potential in targeted drug delivery and the challenges in translating laboratory innovations into clinical use.”
#ScienceAndTechnology
7September 3, 2026 2.3K 14
