Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a kind of chronic disease that occurs widely in the world. The rate of treatment failure is high, and it affects the health of millions of people. On March 14, the reporter of Science and Technology Daily learned that the research group of associate professor Li Nan of the School of Pharmacy of Tianjin University, in cooperation with Professor Voith Adam of Mendel University of the Czech Republic, has successfully designed a new type of oral drug delivery system, which can adsorb the harmful gas hydrogen sulfide in the intestine, reshape the intestinal microenvironment, and improve the treatment effect of inflammatory bowel disease. Relevant research results were published in the international journal Advanced Materials. It is reported that the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease is closely related to the disturbance of intestinal microenvironment, mainly including the reduction of intestinal mucosa, the destruction of intestinal epithelial cells and the loss of tight junction protein. At present, people can use traditional interventions, such as surgery and anti-inflammatory drugs, to treat inflammatory bowel disease, but these treatments have disadvantages such as low efficiency, high recurrence rate and many complications. Li Nan's research team has developed a new oral drug delivery system by adopting the treatment strategy of "removing intestinal harmful substances to regulate intestinal microenvironment". The principle is that the esterified hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate is used as the casing material, and the "protective umbrella" is set up for the multifunctional nano platform to help the drug delivery probe cross the strong acidic gastric juice, so that it can enter the weak alkaline intestinal tract and release it. "The cutting-edge treatment of inflammatory bowel disease is currently focused on eliminating pathogenic active oxygen species and reducing pro-inflammatory factors, and our research is the first time to apply the concept of 'harmful gas adsorption' in the field of environment to disease treatment." Li Nan introduced that the drug delivery system uses porous organic metal frame materials, which were originally used to absorb harmful gas hydrogen sulfide in industry. This time, the joint team used this material to adsorb the harmful gas hydrogen sulfide in the intestine, thus reshaping the intestinal microenvironment. Animal experiments have proved that this new oral drug delivery system has a significant therapeutic effect. It can restore mucous membrane and epithelial integrity, prevent intestinal barrier damage and microbial flora imbalance, and restore a healthy microenvironment in the intestine. Compared with traditional drugs, this treatment method can better alleviate intestinal inflammation. Li Nan said: "In the later stage, scientific researchers can explore more disease treatment targets and develop more efficient and ingenious drug preparations." (AFP)