In Situ Thermo-co-Electroresponsive Mucogel for Controlled Release of Bioactive Agent

Publication date: Available online 26 January 2019Source: International Journal of PharmaceuticsAuthor(s): Olufemi D. Akilo, Pradeep Kumar, Yahya E. Choonara, Lisa C. du Toit, Priyamvada Pradeep, Girish Modi, Viness PillayAbstractThe purpose of this work was to develop an in situ thermosensitive electro-responsive mucoadhesive gel loaded with bioactive agent (nanocomposite) meant for nose to brain delivery in a controllable manner when electric stimulation is applied. Nanocomposite was developed using a combinatorial blending of chitosan, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, pluronic F127 and polyaniline which was then loaded with BCNU-Nano-co-Plex (the bioactive agent). The nanocomposite was a liquid at room temperature but formed an in situ mucogel at a temperature of 27.5±0.5°C. Furthermore, the nanocomposite possessed a redox element which makes it responsive to electrical stimulation (ES). The stimuli responsiveness enabled the formulation to release the bioactive agent when electrical potential was applied and demonstrated a desired 10.28% release of nanoparticles per application cycle. The results further revealed pore formation within the formulation which accommodated the loaded nanoparticles. The release profile also demonstrated a pulsatile release of the bioactive material when subjected to ES. This formulation may therefore be useful as a nose to brain drug delivery system that can be modulated to deliver bioactive agents to the brain via electro-actuation in an “on...
Source: International Journal of Pharmaceutics - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research