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Development of Novel Polysaccharides-Based Cryogels for Drug Delivery Applications

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Thesis(4.78 MB)

Date

2021

Authors

Supervisor

Young, Owen
Seyfoddin, Ali

Item type

Thesis

Degree name

Doctor of Philosophy

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

The rate of intranasal disorders is globally increasing due to local or systemic causes such as trauma, climate change, exposure to pollutants and chemicals, haematological disorders, and some body system dysfunctions. Epistaxis, commonly known as nose bleeding, is a common intranasal condition with more than 50% of the world population experiencing it at least once in their life. Although it is generally self-manageable, some cases require medical attention. In addition to epistaxis, sinusitis and nasal septum deviation are the two other common intranasal disorders that require surgical interventions, endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) and septoplasty, in many patients. Nasal packing has been generally practiced in epistaxis to cease bleeding by mechanically facilitating blood clot formation. In addition, this medical device is placed in the nasal cavity during and after some intranasal surgeries for several days to weeks to enhance wound healing and reduce risk of post-operative complications. A literature review was conducted focusing on the composition of current nasal packs, their applications and clinical outcomes in terms of effectiveness, patients’ satisfaction and complications associated with their use. The review indicated that the current nasal packs do not fulfil the expectations of clinicians and patients and there is a demand for development of new products. Also, it was found that in conjunction with packing, some drugs – mainly prophylactic– are systemically administrated to facilitate blood clotting, wound healing and minimise infection. In addition, several attempts were reported by some researchers in locally delivering these drugs utilising nasal packs as drug carriers, however the erratic results indicated further investigation in feasibility of this method. Therefore, it was realised that there is a need for development of ready to use drug-eluting nasal packs with customised controlled release property for fast and slow-release functions. Hence, it was attempted to design, formulate and develop a prototype of an erodible nasal pack using abundant biopolymers and lyophilisation technique. The prototype composed of κ-carrageenan hydrogel was developed and its capability in hosting and releasing some therapeutic model drugs was tested in vitro. The results of the in vitro studies indicated that the developed prototype is suitable for the matrix of nasal pack and meets some requirements of this medical device in terms of hosting the drugs, swelling, fluid absorption and releasing the drugs. The prototype acts as a regular nasal pack and drug carrier and can host hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs with minor alterations in formulation. However, in vivo studies are required to investigate the behaviour of the developed nasal pack in real conditions.

Description

Keywords

Epistaxis, Hydrogel, Intranasal drug delivery, Polysaccharides

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Permanent link

https://hdl.handle.net/10292/14542

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Doctoral Theses