Assignment task: Multiple layer design (1st layer, red = outermost layer; 3rd layer, white = innermost layer)
Considering the various digestive tract segments, each with its own function and environment, your task as the physiology consultant for All-Day Drugs Pharmaceutical firm is to design a pill to provide all-day delivery of Substance X (or SX) for continued treatment of winter fever. Don't worry about the actual chemical structure of SX - the pharmaceutical division is taking care of that. You can assume that SX has the potential to be absorbed in each region of the GI tract. Your job is to design the delivery device (i.e., the pill itself) such that it provides/releases the chemical all day through the regions of the digestive tract it has to pass through.
Some questions/ideas to consider getting you started on your design -
- What is the chemical environment like in each portion of the GI tract?
- How long do substances spend in each part of the GI tract? What determines the time?
- How are substances absorbed into the body from the GI tract?
- As you design your pill, it may help to draw a sketch of the GI tract (with the above info).