This dissertation is focused on the controlled release of drugs from a biodegradable amphiphilic hydrogel based on hydrophobic poly(lactic acid), poly(glycolic acid) and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PLGA-PEG-PLGA, ABA) and its modification with itaconic anhydride (ITA). The resulting ,-itaconyl(PLGA-PEG-PLGA) copolymer is referred to as ITA/PLGA-PEG-PLGA/ITA or ITA/ABA/ITA. Itaconic acid provides reactive double bonds and a functional carboxyl group at the ends of the PLGA-PEG-PLGA copolymer chain, thereby rendering the modified ITA/ABA/ITA copolymer less hydrophobic and offering the possibility of forming a carrier for hydrophilic drug substances. These functional copolymers are thermosensitive and change in the external environment (e.g. temperature) causes a sol-gel phase transition due to the formation of micellar structure. The bioactive substances can thus be mixed with a copolymer which is in a low viscous phase (sol phase) and subsequently the mixture can be injected into patient's body at the target site where it forms a gel at 37 °C. This hydrogel becomes a drug depot, which gradually releases the active substance. Prediction of the substance’s release profile from the hydrogel is an effective tool to determine the frequency of administration, potentially enhancing efficacy, and assessment of side effects associated with dosing. The analgesic paracetamol and the sulfonamide antibiotic sulfathiazole were used as model drugs, representing hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances, respectively. The active substances had a significant effect on the resulting hydrogel stiffness. Type of solvent, incubation medium and nanohydroxyapatite also influenced on the gel stiffness and subsequent stability of the hydrogel-drug system. Controlled release of drugs took place in simulated conditions of the human body. Verification of Korsmeyer-Peppas (KP) drug-release model is also discussed in this thesis. The KP model was found suitable for simulating the release of sulfathiazole from ABA and ITA/ABA/ITA hydrogels. On the contrary, the performance of KP model was not suitable for describing the release of paracetamol from the ABA hydrogels. Therefore, a new regression model suitable for both buffered simulated media and water has been proposed. The proposed model fitted better the release of both sulfathiazole and paracetamol from composite material prepared from ABA hydrogel and nanohydroxyapatite.

For centuries, the human body has been used as a mean to project the norms, moral values and aesthetic preferences that exist throughout society. It has been controlled through constrictive fashion, family and social virtues and through how we perceive gender and sexuality. This essay strives to show, not only how the body and the aesthetic values coexist, but also how they work together and influence each other, with the body as the aesthetic medium. To do this, Michel Foucault’s writings of sexuality and his theories on morality and discipline, as well as Judith Butler’s works on normativity and performativity are being used. Carolyn Korsmeyer’s work on aesthetic theory from a feminist point of view, specifically what she writes about beauty and the sublime, is also utilized, together with Sigmund Freud’s theories on variant sexuality. As human beings, we have a tendency to view each other as followers of a certain norm; more specifically a gender based one. We divide each other into either men or women, but always as heterosexuals with a desire to procreate. What happens then when we come across someone who either is gay, bi- or transsexual, a transvestite, or someone who’s primary sexual interest is focused on a body part, a piece of clothing, on giving or receiving pain, physical restraint, or to dominate or being dominated? There still exist a social tendency to view these as being outside the norm, but my point in this essay is that these are just as much a performative action as is the one being a heterosexual man or woman. This because we humans are performative at our core, we always stage our gender and sexuality, as well as philosophical and political attitudes, with everyone else being both the audience and fellow actors. Fetishistic practices and BDSM are part of the aesthetic world by their close relationship with aesthetic sublimity. By engaging in one or both of these, the fetishist or BDSM-enthusiast uses his or her body as a mean to experience the delight that is the core of sublimity, as well as beauty. Beauty and sublimity are also the keywords used to describe the pleasure derived from the visual appearance of the female body and the power eminated from the male. These have been highlighted through clothing such as corsets, high heels and uniforms, and all of these have also found their way into both the world of fashion and into the wardrobes of fetishists and those engaging in BDSM. These practises have had a high influence on the haute couture of fashion, mostly due to their provocative values. My point in this essay is then that the aesthetic world consists of something more than just art, for example a painting hung on a wall. It consists of bodily actions and responses, all of which can be seen as parts of a purely aesthetic experience.