Microhidrogeles de Alcohol Polivinílico para su Potencial Aplicación en Sistemas de Liberación de Fármacos

Abstract

In the past few years, the pharmaceutical industry’s research beside the biomedical sciences has focused on the development of novel, sophisticated drug delivery systems in order to rationalize the most therapeutic treatments that achieve the desired pharmacological effects. The efficiency of those systems can be increased in a significant way through the use of microparticle-shaped polymeric materials combined with the physicochemical properties of a hydrogel. The use of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) microhydrogels as a potential biomaterial for drug delivery systems was investigated. PVA microhydrogel preparation was performed with a combination of water and oil emulsion and freeze-thaw cycling for crosslinking. This implemented procedure does not require any additional type of chemical agent for neither emulsification nor crosslinking, meaning residual monomers will not wrap in the microhydrogel structure. The samples were characterized by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained microhydrogels had a spherical shape with rough edges. Gravimetric analysis was performed to characterize swelling; a rate of approximately 250% swelling was reached. The mean diameter of the obtained particles was between 40 and 70 μm. These characteristics suggest that the PVA hydrogels developed by this technique have great potential in various medical applications.