Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin at Campus Benjamin Franklin have developed a new class of pain medication. Using new chemical synthesis methods, the conventional pain medication morphine was coupled to carrier molecules, so-called nanocarriers. Their bond is only broken in the target tissue, in the case of injuries in the inflamed environment, so the morphine cannot cause side effects in healthy tissues such as the brain or the intestinal wall. The research findings were published in the latest issue of the science journal eLife.