title: Scleroglucan/borax: characterization of a novel hydrogel system suitable for drug delivery.
abstract: A new hydrogel, with scleroglucan using borax as a crosslinker, has been prepared. The physical gel has been loaded with a model molecule (theophylline) and the release of the drug from the gel was evaluated. The same system was used to prepare tablets and the delivery of theophylline in different environmental conditions (HCl and SIF) was determined. A recent theoretical approach has been applied to the dissolution profiles obtained from the tablets and a satisfactory agreement has been found with the experimental data. Furthermore, the diffusion coefficient of the model molecule was evaluated according to a suitable strategy that was tested on two set of data obtained with different set-ups (permeation and diffusion experiments). A simplified mathematical approach allows to reduce the two-dimensional problem of the Fick's second law in a one-dimensional system leading to a much easier handling of the data without loosing the accuracy of the original problem in two dimensions. The characterization of the gel has been also carried out following the kinetics of swelling in terms of water uptake.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Studi di Chimica e Tecnologia delle Sostanze Biologicamente Attive, Università La Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. tommasina.coviello@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Coviello
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lapasin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alhaique
mesh_terms: D001881:Borates / Q000737:chemistry*; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations / Q000737:chemistry*; D004058:Diffusion; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D015195:Drug Design; D005936:Glucans / Q000737:chemistry*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D010539:Permeability; D013806:Theophylline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001881:Borates; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D005936:Glucans; D020100:Hydrogels; C018851:borax; C045938:scleroglucan; D013806:Theophylline