title: Biodegradable dextran hydrogels crosslinked by stereocomplex formation for the controlled release of pharmaceutical proteins.
abstract: Hydrogels are based on hydrophilic polymers, which are crosslinked to prevent dissolution in water. Because hydrogels can contain large amounts of water, they are interesting devices for the delivery of proteins. In this contribution a biodegradable dextran hydrogel is described which is based on physical interactions and is particularly suitable for the controlled delivery of pharmaceutically active proteins. The unique feature of our system is that the preparation of the hydrogels takes place in an all-aqueous solution, by which the use of organic solvents is avoided. Furthermore, chemical crosslinking agents are not needed to create the hydrogels, since crosslinking is established physically by stereocomplex formation between enantiomeric oligomeric lactic acid chains. The hydrogel is simply obtained after mixing aqueous solutions of dextran(l)-lactate and dextran(d)-lactate. In this contribution, the formation of the hydrogels as well as their protein release properties and degradation behavior are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Utrecht University, PO Box 80.082, 3508 Utrecht, TB, The Netherlands. w.e.hennink@pharm.uu.nl
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Hennink
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: De Jong
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Bos
authors.forename: T F J
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Veldhuis
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: van Nostrum
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001711:Biotransformation; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D003911:Dextrans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D003911:Dextrans; D020100:Hydrogels; D011506:Proteins