Polymer blend implant for ocular delivery of fluorometholone

Development and Evaluation of a Water Soluble Fluorometholone Eye Drop Formulation Employing Polymeric Micelle

Low aqueous solubility of drug causes difficulties in preparation and inconvenience of administration. Polymeric micelles of fluorometholone (FML) using solid dispersion technique were prepared to develop an eye drop formulation with enhanced water solubility. Solid dispersions of FML were prepared at various FML:Soluplus^® w/w ratios using solvent evaporation method. A physical mixture was also prepared. Physicochemical characterization was performed with various methods. Ex vivo porcine corneal permeation of polymeric micelle, physical mixture, and commercial product were compared. FML solid dispersion (1:15) showed the highest solubility, which was c.a. 169.6- and 15.3-fold higher than that of pure FML and physical mixture. Characterization showed that the crystalline form of FML changed to amorphous state and polymeric micelles were formed in round micelle. Flucon^®, a commercial product of FML, showed significantly large particle size and high poly dispersity index. In contrast, FML polymeric micelle showed submicron size with uniform size distribution. Ex vivo porcine corneal permeation study showed that permeation by polymeric micelles was significantly higher than that by the commercial product and physical mixture. In addition, confocal laser scanning microscopic analysis supported the enhanced porcine corneal tissue permeation property of polymeric micelle. In conclusion, polymeric micelle prepared with solid dispersion using Soluplus^® can be a potential nanomedicine for ocular delivery of poorly water-soluble FML.

Poly(lactic acid) blends in biomedical applications

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has become a "material of choice" in biomedical applications for its ability to fulfill complex needs that typically include properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, mechanical strength, and processability. Despite the advantages of pure PLA in a wider spectrum of applications, it is limited by its hydrophobicity, low impact toughness, and slow degradation rate. Blending PLA with other polymers offers a convenient option to enhance its properties or generate novel properties for target applications without the need to develop new materials. PLA blends with different natural and synthetic polymers have been developed by solvent and melt blending techniques and further processed based on end-use applications. A variety of PLA blends has been explored for biomedical applications such as drug delivery, implants, sutures, and tissue engineering. This review discusses the opportunities for PLA blends in the biomedical arena, including the overview of blending and postblend processing techniques and the applications of PLA blends currently in use and under development.

Carbon-Nanotube-Enhanced Direct Electron-Transfer Reactivity of Hemoglobin Immobilized on Polyurethane Elastomer Film

In this study, we investigate the direct electron-transfer reactivity of immobilized hemoglobin (Hb) on a polyurethane elastomer (PUE) film for biosensor designs. The PUE film synthesized by an additional polymerization possesses good biocompatibility, uniformity, and conformability and is ready for protein immobilization. Electrochemical and spectroscopic measurements show that the presence of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) increased the protein-PUE interaction, varied polymer morphology, improved the permeability and the conductivity of the PUE film, and thus facilitated the direct electron transfer between the immobilized Hb and the conductivity surface through the conducting tunnels of MWNTs. The immobilized Hb maintains its bioactivities and displays an excellent electrochemical behavior with a formal potential of -(334 +/- 7) mV. The addition of NaNO2 leads to an increase of the electrocatalytic reduction current of nitrite at -0.7 V. This allows us to develop a nitrite sensor with a linear response range from 0.08 to 3.6 mM. The proposed method opens a way to develop biosensors by using nanostructured materials mixed with low electrical conductivity matrixes.

Adjusting drug diffusivity using miscible polymer blends

Tuning the release rates of drugs was accomplished with miscible polymer blends. Dexamethasone (DX) was formulated in a miscible polymer blend composed of two poly(ether urethane)s, one in which DX diffuses relatively quickly and the other in which DX diffuses relatively slowly. Matrices that provide drug diffusion coefficients from 7 x 10(-13) to 3 x 10(-19) cm2/s were obtained by adjusting the blend ratio. Tunable diffusion coefficients were also achieved with partially miscible blends, such as poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAC)/cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB). However, similar tunable diffusion was not observed with an immiscible polymer blend composed of poly(carbonate urethane) (PCU) and polysulfone (PSF).

Depth Profiling of 4-Acetamindophenol-Doped Poly(lactic acid) Films Using Cluster Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

The feasibility of using cluster secondary ion mass spectrometry for depth profiling of drug delivery systems is explored. The behavior of various biodegradable polymer films under dynamic SF(5)(+) primary ion bombardment was investigated, including several films doped with model drugs. The SF(5)(+) depth profiles obtained from these biodegradable polymer films showed very little degradation in secondary ion signal as a function of increasing primary ion dose, and it was discovered that the characteristic ion signals for the polymers remained constant for ion doses up to approximately 5 x 10(15) ions/cm(2). These results suggest that the polyester structure of the biodegradable polymers studied here allows for a greater ability to depth profile due to ease of main chain scission. Attempts were also made to depth profile through a series of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films containing varying concentrations of the drug 4-acetamidophenol. The depth profiles obtained from these films show very little decrease in both the 4-acetamidophenol molecular ion and PLA fragment ion signals as a function of increasing SF(5)(+) primary ion dose. Similar results were obtained with theophylline-doped PLA films. These results show that, in some drug delivery devices, it is possible to monitor the distribution of a drug as a function of depth by using cluster primary ion beams.

Assessment of polymer-polymer interactions in blends of HPMC and film forming polymers by modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry

PURPOSE

To assess the miscibility and phase behavior of binary blends of hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) with hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), methylcellulose (MC), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP).

METHODS

Polymer-polymer miscibility was assessed by measurement of the glass transition temperature (Tg) and the width of the glass transition temperature (W-Tg), using modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry (MTDSC).

RESULTS

HPMC K4M/PVP and HPMC E5/MC blends were miscible as evidenced by a single, composition dependent, Tg throughout the entire composition range. HPMC/HPC blends were immiscible at all compositions. For the miscible blends, the variation in Tg with blend composition was compared to the values predicted by the Fox and Couchman-Karasz equations. At intermediate blend compositions, HPMC K4M/PVP blends exhibited negative deviations from ideal behavior. The Tg of the HPMC E5/MC blends was found to follow the Fox equation. The W-Tg measurements of the miscible blends gave evidence of phase separation at certain compositions.

CONCLUSIONS

MTDSC was shown to be a useful technique in characterizing the interactions between some commonly used pharmaceutical polymers.