Synthesis and characterization of biocompatible hydrogels and sensitive to temperature and pH for controlled drug release

• Grant number: 13/08947-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): August 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Simone de Fátima Medeiros Sampaio
• Grantee: Arthur Painhas de Almeida
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de Lorena (EEL). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lorena , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Many techniques have been studied to prepare solutions to reduce the collateral effects caused by medical treatments, which of main ones involve materials that can be used to protect and carry, safely, active substances to desired locations (illness), initiating the controlled release through material degradation or change your conformation. Biocompatible polymers, either as straight chain, hydrogels (crosslinked chain), micro or nanoparticle are among the main materials used for this purpose. The drug incorporation in hydrogels, that exhibit volume change in aqueous solution, have been showing an interesting alternative to change release kinect of various active principles. This volume change can be caused when a stimulus, such as temperature and pH, is applied in the polymer, which leads the conformation variation in macrochains, resulting from increased physical interation between them. To obtain these hydrogels, many methods are related in papers where are based, mainly, on the use of physical and chemical crosslinkers. So, this project of scientific initiation proposes to obtain hydrogels sensitive to stimuli via precipitation polymerization using a biocompatible chemical crosslinking agent, as well as the encapsulation of a hydrophobic drug in these polymeric matrix. Furthermore, the kinect release in vitro will be studied. This project is going to count with a co-orientation of Prof. Dr. Amilton Martins dos Santos. (AU)