Abstract
A dual-responsive hydrogel (pH/temperature) was developed from a thermos-responsive polymer, pluronic F-127 (PF127), and pH-responsive polymers, N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan (TMC) and polyethylene glycolated hyaluronic acid (PEG-HA). Gallic acid, the principal component of the traditional Chinese drug Cortex Moutan was loaded into the hydrogel (PF127/TMC/PEG-HA) for possible application in textile-based transdermal therapy as Cortex Moutan has been proven to be an effective drug for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). TMC and PEG-HA were synthesized, characterized (1H-NMR and FTIR), and added to the formulations to enhance drug release from the hydrogels, and increase the drug targeting of the carriers. The thermo-responsive properties of the hydrogel were assessed by dynamic viscosity analysis and the tube inversion method, and the pH-responsiveness of the formulation was determined by changing the pH of the external media. Rheology study of the hydrogels showed that complex viscosity and storage/loss moduli for PF127/TMC/PEG-HA hydrogel formulation are higher than PF127 hydrogel. The microstructure analysis by reflection SAXS indicated similar type of frozen inhomogeneity of hydrogel formulations. Various characterizations such as FTIR, SEM, TEM, zeta potential, and degradation of the hydrogel formulation indicated that the PF127/TMC/PEG-HA hydrogel showed better physico-chemical properties and morphology than did the PF127 hydrogel, and drug release was also higher for the PF127/TMC/PEG-HA hydrogel than for PF127. The drug release from hydrogels followed more closely first-order rate model than other rate models.
Highlights
Textile based transdermal therapy using hydrogel drug delivery systems has been gaining attention for the last few years because of its dual functionality to simultaneously supply moisture and loaded drug onto infected sites on the skin[1,2,3]
® pluronics or poloxamers mainly Pluronic F-127 (PF127) are capable of showing sol-gel transition near the body temperature of 37 °C and the unique thermos-responsive property of these polymers is directed towards a wide area of drug delivery applications21,24. pNIPAAm, a synthetic thermos-responsive polymer made of NIPAAm monomers by controlled radical polymerization shows a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) within the range of 36.5–37.5 °C, and in the form of injectable hydrogels, pNIPAAm has applications in tissue engineering, and, cell and drug delivery25. pNIPAAm-based amphiphilic co-network systems, consisting of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic components covalently bonded in macromolecular structure show tremendous drug delivery applications due to their good biocompatibility, high mechanical strength, solvent nature independent swelling, and nanophase-separated structure[26]
A thermo-responsive hydrogel made of PF127 and N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan was applied as a drug delivery system for the anticancer drug docetaxel, and the hydrogel showed a good porous structure with an improved interconnected hydrogel network after modification with TMC39
Summary
Textile based transdermal therapy using hydrogel drug delivery systems has been gaining attention for the last few years because of its dual functionality to simultaneously supply moisture and loaded drug onto infected sites on the skin[1,2,3]. PF127 is reported to be non-toxic and biocompatible, and PF127-based thermos-responsive hydrogels are applied as drug carriers for the treatment of different forms of cancer and skin disease[1,28,29,30] Some natural polymers such as cellulose, gelatin/collagen, xyloglucan, chitosan, starch, xanthan gum, carrageenans, hyaluronic acid, and dextran are capable of showing thermo-responsive properties, and thermo-responsive composite hydrogels made of synthetic and natural polymers are reported to perform well as drug carriers[12]. The morphology and physico-chemical properties of dual-responsive (pH/temperature) hydrogel made of PF127, TMC, and PEG-HA (PF127/TMC/PEG-HA hydrogel) and the drug (gallic acid) release properties of hydrogel for were studied here to develop a suitable drug carrier for the treatment of AD via textile -ased transdermal therapy
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