Surfactant induced drug delivery based on the use of thermosensitive polymers

A novel approach of controlled drug delivery using thermosensitive polymers is developed in this paper. The drug release occurs at physiological temperature, at which the polymer is normally not soluble, and no medium temperature changes are required to bring about the delivery. For this purpose benefit is taken from the specific binding properties of some anionic surfactants and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) in order to modify the dissolution properties of PNIPAAm and of a copolymer with N-vinyl-acetamide (NVA), and so to induce the release of a drug contained in compression coated tablets. The influence of surfactant type and amount on the drug release rates and lag times from tablets coated with PNIPAAm or with the copolymer are discussed. It was found that the lag time is influenced by the surfactant species and amount. When use is made of a copolymer as coating agent, it is possible to bring about the release. of the drug by incorporating only a very small amount (as low as 2%) of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in the coating. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.