Biomimetic Nanowire Coatings for Next Generation Adhesive Drug Delivery Systems

Without bioadhesive delivery devices, complex compounds are typically degraded or cleared from mucosal tissues by the mucous layer.(1-3) While some chemically modified, microstructured surfaces have been studied in aqueous environments 4,5 adhesion due to geometry alone has not been investigated. Silicon nanowire-coated beads show significantly better adhesion than those with targeting agents under shear, and can increase the lift-off force 100-fold. We have shown that nanowire coatings, paired with epithelial physiology, significantly increase adhesion in mucosal conditions.