Could extend drug delivery time or mute immune response

 

Adding a layer or layers of nanoparticles to the outside of polymer vesicles might improve the hollow particles’ ability to deliver drugs, researchers in England said. Coatings of plastic or hydrogel could extend drug delivery time or add “stealth” capabilities to hide the particles from immune defenses, the lead researcher said.

 

“Polymer vesicle drug release has been investigated for many years. The advantage we’ve added is that by reinforcing the polymer-based vesicle with a layer of particles, you can control the robustness, the elasticity, the mechanical properties of the membrane,” said Stefan A. F. Bon, PhD, an associate professor of polymer and colloid chemistry at the University of Warwick, England. “On top of that, we’ve shown that with the variety of materials you can tack on the outside surface you can basically come up with new structures,” added Dr. Bon, senior author of a paper describing in vitro work with the technology (Chen R, Pearce DJG, Fortuna S, et al. [Published online ahead of print January 26, 2011.] J Am Chem Soc. ) from J Am Chem Soc. .

 

The study authors showed that colloidal “armor” could be added to hollow polymer vesicles by forming films of soft polymer latex particles to make a polymersome, or by disintegrating an assembled polymer latex to form a hydrogel coating.

 

“With soft plastic particles, we get a vesicle effectively wrapped in a plastic bag,” Dr. Bon explained. “This would increase the barrier properties of the vesicle membrane and allow slower drug release. In addition, we can add a ‘stealth’ hydrogel layer around it, which potentially could be used to fool the immune system.”

 

SOURCE:PFQ