In this work led by Hengli Zhang, we demonstrate that Neosaxitoxin (NSTX) is a potent analgesic for osteoarthritis (OA) associated pain but is limited by rapid joint clearance and short therapeutic duration when delivered as a free drug. Encapsulation within alginate-core polymeric microparticles (AlgPLGA-MP) extended pain relief to approximately one week, while avidin surface modification further enhanced joint retention and shows promise for prolonging analgesic effects even further. The paper is now available online, read it [HERE]!