Levitating Drugs in Zero-G Could Make Them More Effective
It almost looks like CG, but the floating drops in this video are quite real and potentially life-saving.
The liquid spheres are being levitated in a special machine that uses
two small speakers to form sound waves slightly out of range of human
hearing — about 22 kHz — that bombard the hovering drops. The sound
waves, arriving from both above and below, perfectly cancel each other
out and generate what’s known as a standing wave that can hold small
amounts of material. The machine was originally developed at NASA to
simulate microgravity conditions for testing the effects of space on
objects.
Aside from looking really cool, these zero-g globules could help
create more effective medication. When drugs are created in a lab, they
are typically left to dry in a petri dish, beaker, or test tube. Because
they are in contact with a solid surface, the medicine crystallizes as
it passes into a solid state. Unfortunately, crystal drugs are harder
for the body to take up, meaning that sick people have to use more of
the pharmaceutical in order to produce the desired effect.
On the other hand, medicines that evaporate while floating and not in
contact with any surface are left in an amorphous state, making them
more soluble and easier for the people to absorb them. Ideally, this
would mean that patients would be able to take less of a drug to achieve
results while having fewer side effects. Researchers are now working to
determine which drugs would be best served by levitation of this sort.
Video: Argonne National Laboratory
Found here
