Thermal sensitive Poloxamer/Chitosan hydrogel for drug delivery in Vagina

Abstract

In this paper, the composite gels based on poloxamer and chitosan with different contents were prepared for thermal sensitive mucosal drug delivery. The sol-gel transition temperature and rheological viscosity of the obtained gels were detected to select the optimum candidate for vaginal drug delivery. Electrochemistry impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was utilized to probe the hole structure in optimum hydrogel immersing in the vaginal fluid stimulant (VFS) for different time. The drug releasing rate of ethinyloestradiol loaded by the optimum hydrogel was examined. The drug releasing results suggested that the releasing rate satisfied with the Higuchi model, while the EIS results confirmed more pores in the composite gels would be formed during the immersing process in the VFS. The results indicated that the gel with the optimum formula met the requirements of vaginal medication. This research suggested poloxamer/chitosan might be an effective type of thermal gel for drug delivery in vagina.