Nano-Composite Polymeric Membrane System for Drug Delivery
The BackgroundThen human body has its own homeostatic mechanisms to regulate a variety of physiologic parameters within a certain range. In instances of disease, however, these parameters may be affected due to various mechanisms. Regulated drug delivery is a concept in which drugs are delivered at an appropriate rate in response to stimuli. Disease states may cause a change in some parameters of the body and this can be used as a stimuli or trigger for the onset and offset of the delivery of drugs.
A number of polymers that exhibit property change in response to variations in temperature and pH have been investigated for their success in drug delivery. However some polymer systems have been shown to be associated with hyperthermia. Membranes that have been developed to overcome this problem are prepared by chemical reactions. Therefore, purification is required after the fabrication of the membrane. More importantly, and a clear disadvantage of such systems is that the reaction conditions are hazardous for therapeutic agents. In vivo instability especially enzymatic degradation hinders applications of proteins and polypeptides as therapeutic agents. As such it is desirable to have a delivery system that can allow therapeutic agents to diffuse out while preventing the enzymes from entering.
The Technology
The invention is a composite polymeric system to provide enhances stimuli-responsiveness. The first aspect provides particles including nanoparticles or microspheres in which the particles are made of stimuli-responsive polymer which responds to various stimuli as temperature and pH change. Incorporated with this polymer is another polymer which in turn is relatively insensitive to stimuli. The invention can be potentially applied to other systems comprising a hydrogel and nonswellable hydrophobic polymer.
Type of Offer: Licensing
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