Simultaneous Pharmaceutical Encasement in NIPAM-based Hydrogels

Abstract

Hydrogels are a network of polymeric chains which trap water within their matrix and have wide-spread use within the biotechnology sector. Novel hydrogel technologies are a key area of study for polymer researchers in both polymer chemistry, materials science, and polymer engineering because several of these have shown promise as pharmaceutics technologies. Several NIPAM-based hydrogels were synthesized simultaneously with hydrocortisone sodium succinate (steroid medication) and propranolol (beta-blocker) to determine batch process formulation for further work in microfluidic environments.  Analyses were carried out with UV-VIS and several fluorescence techniques for steroid concentrations were explored.  Data showed propranolol did not incorporate as well based on kinetics observations, but that steroids are more promising for this novel technology.