A Conversation With an Engineering Pioneer: Dr. Nicholas Peppas

Generally, where do you see the field going? What might be the next big breakthrough in drug delivery systems?

NP: Finding more inexpensive systems that can control the cost of health care will always be a priority. Also, there continues to be work on advanced delivery systems, the so-called intelligent systems that can respond to a disease by recognizing one of its early causes and providing a treatment. Additionally, I foresee advancements in personalized medicine and drug delivery, targeting to specific sites and delivery of multiple drugs in one formulation/device.