Micro-origami for drug delivery

Engineers have demonstrated how to make microscale origami-like containers that could be used as drug delivery devices in the body. The hinged structures were created in polysilicon and are only 30 micrometers on a side. (One inch is 25,400 micrometers.) The team from the USC Information Sciences Institute published their "recipe" in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. Link

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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Satan

ironically, after the lifesaving drug has been successfully delivered, its sharp edged delivery vehicle will kill you.
Robbo

Fond memories of Red Dragon blotter – between this post and the one on Dr. Hoffman I’m having a rather pleasant day of flashbacks. Thanks!
Master of Space and Time

Hummmmm

niiiiiice one ! for pot
katkins

Demon seed!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_Seed
arkizzle

But how much actual drug could you fit into one?

I didn’t see this info in the article, but I wonder if an active amount of anything other that LSD would fit in there. Perhaps they are intended to be used in.. flocks? teams? .. eh .. help me out somone.

Also, noticed they are called Voxels, so when they do eventually get drug-drugs in there, we can say “let’s Vox’ pop!” ..ugh
chdunk

i second post #13–when talking about scales, its only useful to compare things of the same order of magnitude. for example 30 Âµm is technically a fine sand.
snackcake

Now, if we could only shrink down Dennis Quaid in a tiny vessel…
ercln

Here’s a video made by engineering students at Johns Hopkins University about self-assembling cubes.
http://digitalmedia.jhu.edu/node/617
sonny p fontaine

At first I thought this was going to be about David Bowie and the seventies.
boingperch

Unfortunately, when they fully unfold they’re the size of a small Buick.
Wulfo

Surely I’m not the only person who imagined drug dealers packing tiny paper cranes with cocaine and them sending them to junkies, carried on gusts of wind.
scottfree

It took me about four readings before I realised it wasn’t talking about drug mules.

‘Wot? Take /that/? Up the bum?’
sonny p fontaine

I’m sorry WULFO I thought I’d made that clear enough.
Antinous

Do they deliver orgone energy?
Jeff

Oragami for Orgone…very good. I’m just happy to see someone use micrometer instead of micron.
LOLcat Stevens

Mmmmm…. Dylar.
forgeweld

You could put your weed in there!
Cefeida

Heh. They look like they’re made by Apple.
oohahh

Wow, thanks for letting me know how many Âµm in an inch. How many in an AU? And that helps me how? Sheesh.

A much better metric in the same ballpark is a human hair. Depending on color we’re talking 20 – 180 Âµm [1].

[1] http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/BrianLey.shtml
Bruce Arthurs

Alternative use: keeping very, very small razor blades sharp.