Porous Polymeric Microparticles as an Oral Drug Platform for Effective Ulcerative Colitis Treatment

J Pharm Sci. 2019 Jul;108(7):2238-2242. doi: 10.1016/j.xphs.2019.02.001. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Abstract

Porous microparticles (MPs) have been regarded as a promising vehicle for drug delivery. Herein, porous MPs and their counterparts (nonporous MPs) were produced by a conventional emulsion-solvent evaporation method in the presence and absence of ammonium bicarbonate, and curcumin was encapsulated into these MPs during the preparation process. The obtained MPs possessed desirable diameters of around 1.2 μm and negative zeta potentials of approximately -28 mV. It was found that the release rate of curcumin was remarkably increased with the introduction of pores in MPs. Furthermore, orally administered porous MPs achieved statistically significantly better therapeutic outcomes against ulcerative colitis mouse model induced by dextran sulfate sodium, in comparison to nonporous MPs. These findings confirmed that porous MPs could be served as a promising platform for the treatment of ulcerative colitis via oral route.

Keywords: oral administration; porous microparticle; treatment; ulcerative colitis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Animals
  • Bicarbonates / chemistry
  • Colitis, Ulcerative / drug therapy*
  • Curcumin / chemistry*
  • Curcumin / pharmacology*
  • Dextran Sulfate / chemistry
  • Drug Carriers / chemistry
  • Drug Delivery Systems
  • Female
  • Mice
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Particle Size
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Porosity

Substances

  • Bicarbonates
  • Drug Carriers
  • Polymers
  • ammonium bicarbonate
  • Dextran Sulfate
  • Curcumin