Optogenerapy: When bio-electronic implant enters the modern syringe era

Resort tomedications dates backmillion years agowith theuse ofmedicinal plants. In thenineteenth century, significant contributions inmedicine appeared in different domains, amongwhich the invention of a specific drug delivery device; the syringe. Nowadays, injection therapy of bio-manufactured drugs is routinepractice for chronicdiseasesbut remains constrainingandpainful.Newemergingadvanced therapies invest in genetic, electronics and cell-based therapy for addressing unmet needs for the caregivers and the patient. As digital process in health (eHealth) gains momentum, connected advanced bio-electronic devices now offer new strategies for personalized injection therapies. In this review, we take a journey along the genesis path of a new drug delivery system: the Optogenerapy, a synergy between optogenetic and gene therapy. Inside a bio-electronic implant, electronics and optogenetics are interfaced by light as a traceless inducer signal. By controlling a synthetic optogenetic pathway in the cell, therapeutics delivery can be fine-tuned with a precise spatiotemporal control. The technology holds promise of a newmodern syringe era capable of producing a drug of interest at will directly inside the patient. © 2017 PBJ-Associação Porto Biomedical/Porto Biomedical Society. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).