Engineering Alginate Microparticles for Optimized Accumulation in Fetal Rat Myelomeningocele

Researchers engineered alginate-dextran sulfate microparticles for minimally invasive prenatal treatment of myelomeningocele via intraamniotic injection. In a rat model, higher-dose particles (1.2 mg/kg) bound to spinal defects with 79% frequency and 5.4-fold specificity versus surrounding tissue, outperforming unmodified alginate formulations.