EXPLORING NOVEL DRUG DELIVERY APPLICATIONS OF EUDRAGIT POLYMERS

Abstract

Eudragit are methacrylate-based polymers with established safety profiles. This thesis aims to use Eudragit polymers with other functional polymers to develop 1) nanoparticles, 2) polymeric blends, and 3) hydrogels to deliver both small molecules and macromolecules. Firstly, nanoparticles consisting of Eudragit and Pluronic P85 improved apparent solubility of paclitaxel by more than 6000 times and increased paclitaxel accumulation up to 55 times in P-glycoprotein overexpressing cells. Secondly, PAMAM dendrimers were combined with Eudragit polymers to form polymeric blends to achieve pH-responsive release, with the incorporation of dendrimers modulating drug release profiles. Thirdly, physically crosslinked composite hydrogels were developed using Eudragit L100 and polyvinyl alcohol. Hydrogels were shown to preserve up to 81% of enzyme activity after 2-hour incubation at pH 1.2, suggesting its potential for oral delivery of protein therapeutics. Overall, the work presented in this thesis demonstrates the versatility of Eudragit polymers in the formulation of drug delivery systems.