<p>The mechanical and chemical properties of hydrogels make them excellent vehicles to deliver drugs. However, current systems encounter difficulties with loading hydrophobic molecules into the aqueous gel network and the subsequent release of the drug from the gel matrix. Cyclodextrins (CDs) offer a potential solution to this drug delivery challenge. CDs have the unique property of possessing a hydrophilic exterior and a hydrophobic interior pocket which is capable of hydrophobic drug binding. CD molecules complexed with hydrophobic drugs have been demonstrated to significantly increase the bioavailability of those drugs in free solution. Thus, if these nanodomains are introduced into microgels or hydrogels, we anticipate that significantly higher hydrophobic drug loadings may be achieved together with improved controlled release of these drugs based on the properties of the hydrogel or microgel phase. We have fabricated <em>in situ</em> gellable and degradable hydrogels and microgels based on combinations of CDs and either functionalized carbohydrates (dextran) or thermosensitive synthetic polymers (poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAM). To achieve this goal, we designed a series of microgels with grafted or immobilized CD groups and used multi-functional CD as a reactive crosslinker for making injectable bulk hydrogels.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/11596 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Mateen, Rabia |
| Contributors | Hoare, Todd, Biomedical Engineering |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
Page generated in 0.0019 seconds