Publications (186) View all
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Article: Enzyme-responsive surface erosion of poly(ethylene carbonate) for controlled drug release.
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ABSTRACT: Cholesterol esterase (CE) induced surface erosion of poly(ethylene carbonate) (PEC) and drug release from PEC under mild physiological environment was investigated. The degradation process was monitored by changes of mass and molecular weight (MW) and surface morphology of polymer films. During the whole period of degradation, MW of PEC was unchanged. Water uptake of the polymer was only 2.8 and 0.2% for PEC with the MW of 200 kDa (PEC200) and PEC with the MW of 41 kDa (PEC41), respectively. Degradation of less hydrophilic PEC41 with higher density was slower than that of PEC200. By this mechanism, CE-responsive drug in vitro release from PEC in situ forming depots (ISFD) was conducted successfully. As expected, less bovine serum albumin (BSA) was released from PEC41 compared with that of PEC200 in the same time period. In conclusion, this work enabled the in vitro drug release evaluation of existing PEC devices and implied a new candidate for the development of enzyme-responsive systems.European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics: official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V 04/2013; · 3.15 Impact Factor -
Article: Ex Vivo Human Trabecular Bone Model for Biocompatibility Evaluation of Calcium Phosphate Composites Modified with Spray Dried Biodegradable Microspheres.
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ABSTRACT: Our aim was to study the suitability of the ex-vivo human trabecular bone bioreactor ZetOS to test the biocompatibility of calcium phosphate bone cement composites modified with spray dried, drug loaded microspheres. We hypothesized, that this bone bioreactor could be a promising alternative to in vivo assessment of biocompatibility in living human bone over a defined time period. Composites consisting of tetracycline loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres and calcium phosphate bone cement, were inserted into in vitro cultured human femora head trabecular bone and incubated over 30 days at 37°C in the incubation system. Different biocompatibility parameters, such as lactate dehydrogenase activity, alkaline phosphatase release and the expression of relevant cytokines, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, were measured in the incubation medium. No significant differences in alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and lactate dehydrogenase activity were measured compared to control samples. Tetracycline was released from the microspheres, delivered and incorporated into newly formed bone. In this study we demonstrated that ex vivo biocompatibility testing using human trabecular bone in a bioreactor is a potential alternative to animal experiments since bone metabolism is still maintained in a physiological environment ex vivo.Advanced healthcare materials. 04/2013; -
Article: In situ forming Nimodipine Depot System based on microparticles for the Treatment of Posthaemorrhagic Cerebral Vasospasm.
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ABSTRACT: The present study was conducted to examine the feasibility of nimodipine loaded PLGA microparticles suspended in Tisseel(™) fibrin sealant as an in situ forming depot system. This device locally placed can be used for the treatment of vasospasm after a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Microparticles were prepared via spray drying by using the vibration mesh spray technology of Nano Spray Dryer B-90. Spherically shaped microparticles with different loadings and high encapsulation efficiencies of 93.3% to 97.8% were obtained. Depending on nimodipine loading (10% - 40%) the particle diameter ranged from 1.9 ± 1.2 μm to 2.4 ± 1.3μm. Thermal analyses using DSC revealed that Nimodipine is dissolved in the PLGA matrix. Also fluorescent dye loaded microparticles were encapsulated in Tisseel(™) to examine the homogeneity of particles. 3D-pictures of the in situ forming devices displayed uniform particle homogeneity in the sealant matrix. Drug release was examined by fluorescence spectrophotometry which demonstrated a drug release proportional to the square root of time. A prolonged drug release of 19.5 h was demonstrated under in vitro conditions. Overall, the Nimodipine in situ forming device could be a promising candidate for the local treatment of vasospasm after a subarachnoid hemorrhage.European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics: official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V 01/2013; · 3.15 Impact Factor -
Article: The use of isothermal titration calorimetry and molecular dynamics to show variability in DNA transfection performance.
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ABSTRACT: The mechanism causing variability in DNA transfection efficacy for low-molecular-weight pDMAEMA (poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) and pDMAEMA-b-pHEMA (poly(2-(dimethyl amino)ethylmethacrylate)-block-poly(2-hydroxyl methacrylate)) has so far remained unclear, apart from the evidence of beneficial effects of the pHEMA grafting. This study has explicitly characterized the electrostatically driven self-assembly process of linear polymethacrylate polymers with DNA-generating nanocarriers for efficient gene transfection. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) showed clear differences in binding-heat profiles of homo-polycationic and pHEMA grafted polymers with DNA. Polyethylene imine, a branched polycationic polymer of 25kDa with high transfection potential that has previously been successfully used in transfection experiments, demonstrated a heat flow profile that was partly identical to pDMAEMA-b-pHEMA. Computational molecular dynamics (MD) simulated the folding process of polymer in water from a linear to a coiled state: homo-pDMAEMA and pHEMA grafts reduced their overall positive charge accessibility upon folding, down to 45% and 63%, respectively. The homo-pDMAEMA formed the globular conformation more preferably than pHEMA grafts, thus impeding electrostatic interaction with DNA. These findings substantiate the known disadvantage of low-molecular-weight linear polymers compared to higher-molecular-weight polymers in transfection performance; here we have disclosed the ability of a non-cationic chain elongation to be beneficial for the self-assembly process. The combination of MD and ITC has proved to be a suitable approach for carrier-payload interaction studies and may be used to predict the efficacy of a polymer as a nanocarrier from the flexibility of its structure.Acta biomaterialia 10/2012; · 3.98 Impact Factor -
Article: Targeting the Blind Spot of Polycationic Nanocarrier-Based siRNA Delivery.
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ABSTRACT: Polycationic nanocarriers attract increasing attention to the field of siRNA delivery. We investigated the self-assembly of siRNA vs pDNA with polycations, which are broadly used for nonviral gene and siRNA delivery. Although polyethyleneimine (PEI) was routinely adopted as siRNA carrier based on its efficacy in delivering pDNA, it has not been investigated yet why PEI efficiently delivers pDNA to cells but is controversially discussed in terms of efficacy for siRNA delivery. We are the first to investigate the self-assembly of PEI/siRNA vs PEI/pDNA and the steps of complexation and aggregation through different levels of hierarchy on the atomic and molecular scale with the novel synergistic use of molecular modeling, molecular dynamics simulation, isothermal titration calorimetry, and other characterization techniques. We are also the fist to elucidate atomic interactions, size, shape, stoichiometry, and association dynamics for polyplexes containing siRNA vs pDNA. Our investigation highlights differences in the hierarchical mechanism of formation of related polycation-siRNA and polycation-pDNA complexes. The results of fluorescence quenching assays indicated a biphasic behavior of siRNA binding with polycations where molecular reorganization of the siRNA within the polycations occurred at lower N/P ratios (nitrogen/phosphorus). Our results, for the first time, emphasize a biphasic behavior in siRNA complexation and the importance of low N/P ratios, which allow for excellent siRNA delivery efficiency. Our investigation highlights the formulation of siRNA complexes from a thermodynamic point of view and opens new perspectives to advance the rational design of new siRNA delivery systems.ACS Nano 10/2012; · 10.77 Impact Factor
