Drug delivery to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is highly challenging due to the harsh environments any
drug- delivery vehicle must experience before it releases it's
drug payload. Effective targeted drug delivery systems often rely on external stimuli to effect release, therefore knowing the exact location of the
capsule and when to apply an external stimulus is paramount. We present a drug delivery system for the GI tract based on coating standard
gelatin drug capsules with a model
eicosane- superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle composite coating, which is activated using magnetic
hyperthermia as an on-demand release mechanism to heat and melt the coating. We also show that the capsules can be readily detected via rapid X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), vital for progressing such a system towards clinical applications. This also offers the opportunity to image the dispersion of the
drug payload post release. These imaging techniques also influenced
capsule content and design and the delivered
dosage form. The ability to easily change design demonstrates the versatility of this system, a vital advantage for modern, patient-specific medicine.