Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Mediated Drug Delivery for First Aid.

Timely administration of key medications toward patients with sudden diseases is critical to saving lives. However, laggard transport of first-aid therapeutics and the potential absence of trained people for drug usage always lead to severe injuries or even death. Herein, we develop an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-mediated first aid system for targeted delivery (uFAST). It allows unattended administration of emergency therapeutics-loaded transdermal microneedle patches toward patients to relieve symptoms by a contact-triggered microneedle applicator (CTMA). We have demonstrated the implementability and safety of the uFAST for first aid in a severe hypoglycemic pig model by automatically delivering a glucagon patch with immediate and bioresponsive dual release modes. This platform technique may facilitate the development of UAV-mediated first aid treatments for other sudden diseases. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.