title: Sustained and controlled release of lipophilic drugs from a self-assembling amphiphilic peptide hydrogel.
abstract: Materials which undergo self-assembly to form supramolecular structures can provide alternative strategies to drug loading problems in controlled release application. RADA 16 is a simple and versatile self-assembling peptide with a designed structure formed of two distinct surfaces, one hydrophilic and one hydrophobic that are positioned in such a well-ordered fashion allowing precise assembly into a predetermined organization. A "smart" architecture in nanostructures can represent a good opportunity to use RADA16 as a carrier system for hydrophobic drugs solving problems of drugs delivery. In this work, we have investigated the diffusion properties of Pindolol, Quinine and Timolol maleate from RADA16 in PBS and in BSS-PLUS at 37°C. A sustained, controlled, reproducible and efficient drug release has been detected for all the systems, which allows to understand the dependence of release kinetics on the physicochemical characteristics of RADA16 structural and chemical properties of the selected drugs and the nature of solvents used. For the analysis various physicochemical characterization techniques were used in order to investigate the state of the peptide before and after the drugs were added. Not only does RADA16 optimise drug performance, but it can also provide a solution for drug delivery issues associated with lipophilic drugs.
authors.affiliation: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS), University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0RE Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Maria-Lucia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Briuglia
authors.affiliation: Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Urquhart
authors.affiliation: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS), University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0RE Scotland, UK. Electronic address: dimitrios.lamprou@strath.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Dimitrios A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lamprou
mesh_terms: D004058:Diffusion; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010869:Pindolol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011803:Quinine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D013999:Timolol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D013999:Timolol; D011803:Quinine; D010869:Pindolol
keywords: AFM; Amphiphilic hydrogels; Controlled release; Lipophilic drugs; Spectroscopy