Hump-inspired ingestible magnetic capsules enable circular nutrition storage and supply for short bowel syndrome treatment.

Abstract

Parenteral nutrition and intestinal transplantation, essential clinical interventions for short bowel syndrome (SBS) patients, are limited by various complications such as impaired intestinal barrier, metabolic disorder, catheter-associated infection, and allogenic rejection, leading to inferior therapeutic outcomes. Here, inspired by the camel hump, an ingestible magnetic capsule (IMC) consisting of thermosensitive hydrogel microparticles (MPs) based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and acrylamide and a magnetic shell made of NdFeB and polyvinyl alcohol is proposed to enable circular nutrition storage and supply to optimize enteral nutrition for SBS treatment. Thermosensitive hydrogel MPs absorb excessive fluid and subsequently release nutrients in response to the heat generated by the photothermal effect of the magnetic shell under near-infrared irradiation. IMC can be localized and retained in the small intestine by the attraction between the magnetic shell and the external ferromagnet. In a SBS rat model, consistent nutrition optimization significantly relieves the weight loss, improves the nutrition-related serological markers, and facilitates the adaptation of the remnant small intestinal epithelium. This study offers a proof of principle for the use of ingestible capsules for nutrient storage and supply, providing a potential strategy for SBS treatment.