Abstract:
Pluronic F-127 (PF-127), a triblock copolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-polyethylene oxide, is a temperature-responsive polymer that can transform sol to gel at an elevated temperature. Moreover, it is known that PF-127 gel can become soluble under physiological conditions. Regarding to these properties, PF-127 has been investigated as a carrier for an injectable drug delivery system, however, the stability of PF-127 gel under the physiological conditions is poor. Chitin whisker. a nanofibrillar form of chitin, with content varying from 0.4 % to 7 %, was added to PF-127 solution at room temperature and then incubated at 37 ºC to allow gel formation. The stability of PF-127 gel was determined by measuring weight loss. The result show that the pluronic gel exhibited higher stability when adding more chitin whisker content. The increase in gel stability might be due to the physical interactions between the pluronic micelles and chitin whisker. The release characteristic of methylene blue, methyl orange and insulin used as a model drug for the chitin whisker-incorporated PF-127 gel, having different chitin whisker ratios was investigated for the purpose of drug carrier applications.
