![]() The use of poloxamers in pharmaceutical research is widely researched. The size and structure of poloxamer assemblies, and their adsorption properties, have made them useful in many applications, including: Drug delivery, nanoparticle synthesis, cosmetics and emulsion formulation, effective dispersants for inks/pigments and as versatile anti-biofouling coatings, to name a few. The PEO blocks are thus hydrophilic, while the PPO block is hydrophobic. Poloxamers exhibit an amphiphilic character in aqueous solution on the basis of the PEO solubility in water and the PPO insolubility. The block segregation gives rise to interesting and useful nanostructures, which are spontaneously formed in solution (self-assembly). The monomers comprising the copolymer blocks are chemically dissimilar (e.g., polar and non-polar), rendering the block copolymers amphiphilic and leading to surface active properties. ![]() While traditional surfactants are low molecular weight, block copolymers are long chains (several thousand Da). Tetronic ® block copolymers, also offered by BASF, comprise four PPO-PEO chains, which extend outward from an amine-terminated central chain. Poloxamers, available also under the trademark Pluronics ® (BASF), are a class of water-soluble nonionic A-B-A and B-A-B triblock copolymers, where A is poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and B is poly(propylene oxide) (PPO). Finally, we conclude with a summary and perspective. This is followed by a discussion of how the self-assembly properties of poloxamers can be leveraged to encapsulate drugs using an array of processing techniques including direct solubilization, solvent displacement methods, emulsification and preparation of kinetically-frozen nanoparticles. In this review, we first present the general solution behavior of poloxamers, focusing on their self-assembly properties. The rich phase behavior (micelles, hydrogels, lyotropic liquid crystals, etc.) of poloxamers makes them amenable to multiple types of processing and various product forms. Judicious design of drug delivery systems leads to improved bioavailability, patient compliance and therapeutic outcomes. Current challenges facing nanomedicine revolve around the transport of typically water-insoluble drugs throughout the body, followed by targeted delivery. ![]() Accordingly, poloxamers serve well as excipients for pharmaceuticals. ![]() Poloxamers find use in many applications that require solubilization or stabilization of compounds and also have notable physiological properties, including low toxicity. Poloxamers, also known as Pluronics ®, are block copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), which have an amphiphilic character and useful association and adsorption properties emanating from this. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |