title: Fast-gelling injectable blend of hyaluronan and methylcellulose for intrathecal, localized delivery to the injured spinal cord.
abstract: Strategies for spinal cord injury repair are limited, in part, by poor drug delivery techniques. A novel drug delivery system (DDS) is being developed in our laboratory that can provide localized release of growth factors from an injectable gel. The gel must be fast-gelling, non-cell adhesive, degradable, and biocompatible as an injectable intrathecal DDS. A gel that meets these design criteria is a blend of hyaluronan and methylcellulose (HAMC). Unlike other injectable gels, HAMC is already at the gelation point prior to injection. It is injectable due to its shear-thinning property, and its gel strength increases with temperature. In vivo rat studies show that HAMC is biocompatible within the intrathecal space for 1 month, and may provide therapeutic benefit, in terms of behavior, as measured by the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor scale, and inflammation. These data suggest that HAMC is a promising gel for localized delivery of therapeutic agents to the injured spinal cord.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada.
authors.forename: Dimpy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tator
authors.forename: Molly S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Shoichet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D005260:Female; D005782:Gels; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D008264:Macrophages / Q000473:pathology; D008422:Materials Testing; D008747:Methylcellulose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051379:Mice; D017628:Microglia / Q000473:pathology; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012212:Rheology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005782:Gels; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D008747:Methylcellulose