الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Oral delivery of macromolecules has the potential to dramatically improve patient acceptance and compliance with chronic regimens. Macromolecular drugs are poorly absorbed across mucosal membranes due to their hydrophilic nature and molecular mass. These compounds represent a class of valuable therapeutics that is still administered via the parenteral route. One of the greatest challenges is to deliver macromolecules orally. Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) is a suitable candidate for oral macromolecule delivery systems as it is the most potent anticoagulant known for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). In this respect, polymeric nanoparticles delivery systems made of Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), PLGA, provide an attractive approach for long term peroral delivery of therapeutic agents for chronic administration. Interest in PLGA is due to its biocompatibility, commercial availability in different grades and its ability to control drug release. However, formulation of water soluble macromolecules involving these carriers still remains a challenge due to the fact that PLGA is not water soluble and this poses a significant challenge to encapsulating hydrophilic drugs into water-insoluble polymers efficiently. The hydrophobic ion-pairing (HIP) technique was applied to enhance the hydrophobicity in order to enhance the entrapment efficiency of macromolecules within polymeric nanoparticles. This technique is. |