A paper on the research, “Cooling-Triggered Release of Celecoxib from Implantable Alginate-Soluplus Composite Devices,” was published in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering.

Currently, on-demand treatment of pain is primarily achieved using opioids. But such drugs are highly addictive, with five people per hour dying from opioid abuse in the United States alone.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)—like ibuprofen and celecoxib—are being considered as alternatives because they are nonaddictive, effectively address pain, and can be delivered locally to minimize dosage and systemic side effects.