Sustained Administration of Hormones Exploiting Nanoconfined Diffusion through Nanochannel Membranes.
Implantable devices may provide a superior means for hormone delivery through maintaining serum levels within target therapeutic windows. Zero-order administration has been shown to reach an equilibrium with metabolic clearance, resulting in a constant serum concentration and bioavailability of released hormones. By exploiting surface-to-molecule interaction within nanochannel membranes, it is possible to achieve a long-term, constant diffusive release of agents from implantable reservoirs. In this study, we sought to demonstrate the controlled release of model hormones from a novel nanochannel system. We investigated the delivery of hormones through our nanochannel membrane over a period of 40 days. Levothyroxine, osteocalcin and testosterone were selected as representative hormones based on their different molecular properties and structures. The release mechanisms and transport behaviors of these hormones within 3, 5 and 40 nm channels were characterized. Results further supported the suitability of the nanochannels for sustained administration from implantable platforms.
Nanomedicine Department, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; College of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Thomas
T
Geninatti
Nanomedicine Department, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
R Lyle
RL
Hood
Nanomedicine Department, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Electronics and Telecommunications Department, Politecnico di Torino, Turin 10024, Italy.
Giacomo
G
Bruno
Nanomedicine Department, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Priya
P
Jain
Nanomedicine Department, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Eugenia
E
Nicolov
Nanomedicine Department, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Arturas
A
Ziemys
Nanomedicine Department, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Alessandro
A
Grattoni
drug delivery; hormone replacement; nanochannel membrane; nanoconfinement; nanoscale diffusion