IMPLANTABLE CONTROLLED DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR PROTEINS BASED ON COLLAGEN - PHEMA HYDROGELS

Co-polymeric hydrogels of collagen and poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) were prepared using an ammonium persulphate-sodium metabisulphite redox initiation technique. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled bovine serum albumin (BSA) was entrapped into these hydrogels. These gels were modified differently by external cross-linking and made highly porous by incorporation of ethylene glycol. The morphological characteristics of the gels containing FITC-BSA before and after release were studied. The in vitro release of FITC-labelled BSA was studied in phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, at 37 degrees C. The results clearly indicated that collagen-pHEMA hydrogels release FITC-BSA in a zero-order fashion. In the case of uncross-linked hydrogels, the release of FITC-BSA was about 81% within 8 d, compared to 49% for the same period in the case of cross-linked hydrogels. It was also observed that in the case of porous hydrogels the release was very fast (19% in the first hour) and lasted for about 12 h, releasing 76% of FITC-BSA. These results clearly indicated that collagen-pHEMA hydrogels released BSA in a zero-order fashion and that the release rate can be programmed by appropriate modification of the hydrogel matrices.