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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Feb 8.
Published in final edited form as: Science. 2019 Feb 8;363(6427):611–615. doi: 10.1126/science.aau2277

Fig. 1. Mechanical API localization and injection for oral gastric delivery.

Fig. 1.

(A) The SOMA localizes to the stomach lining, orients its injection mechanism toward the tissue wall, and injects a drug payload through the mucosa. The drug dissolves and the rest of the device passes out of the body. (B) A fabricated SOMA. (C) A comparison between the shape of the leopard tortoise (S. pardalis) and that of the SOMA. The SOMA quickly orients and remains stable in the stomach environment after reaching its preferred orientation. [Photo: M. M. Karim/ Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 2.5] (D) The SOMA uses a compressed spring fixed in caramelized sucrose (brown) to provide a force for drug-loaded millipost (blue) insertion. After actuation, the spring remains encapsulated within the device.