Chemotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Chemotherapy, including details on cancer treatment, side effects, drugs.

Improving delivery of hydrophobic drugs from hydrogels through cyclodextrins.

Kanjickal D, Lopina S, Evancho-Chapman MM, Schmidt S, Donovan D

Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325, USA.

A simple and effective technique of improving delivery of hydrophobic drugs from swellable systems is presented. Conventional methods of drug loading in hydrogel systems are limited by the characteristics of the pharmacological agent. The approach we present uses complexants to modulate drug release. Crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels were synthesized, characterized, and used for vascular applications. The release of cyclosporine (CyA) from PEG hydrogels is significantly altered by the sterilization techniques. It was hypothesized that the release of CyA from PEG hydrogels can be modulated by using complexants. A cyclodextrin-CyA complex solution was prepared and used for drug loading. The sterilized PEG hydrogels that were loaded using the cyclodextrin-CyA complex solution had favorable release characteristics compared with the release from PEG hydrogels that were loaded using the conventional technique. Hence, drug release from swellable systems can be tailored by the application of this strategy.

Published 1 August 2005 in J Biomed Mater Res A, 74(3): 454-60.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Chemotherapy Research Today. All Rights Reserved.