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Review
. 2018 Dec 29;6(1):7.
doi: 10.3390/medicines6010007.

Drug-Loaded Biocompatible Nanocarriers Embedded in Poloxamer 407 Hydrogels as Therapeutic Formulations

Elena Giuliano  1 , Donatella Paolino  2 , Massimo Fresta  3 , Donato Cosco  4
Affiliations
Review

Drug-Loaded Biocompatible Nanocarriers Embedded in Poloxamer 407 Hydrogels as Therapeutic Formulations

Elena Giuliano et al. Medicines (Basel). .

Abstract

Hydrogels are three-dimensional networks of hydrophilic polymers able to absorb and retain a considerable amount of water or biological fluid while maintaining their structure. Among these, thermo-sensitive hydrogels, characterized by a temperature-dependent sol⁻gel transition, have been massively used as drug delivery systems for the controlled release of various bioactives. Poloxamer 407 (P407) is an ABA-type triblock copolymer with a center block of hydrophobic polypropylene oxide (PPO) between two hydrophilic polyethyleneoxide (PEO) lateral chains. Due to its unique thermo-reversible gelation properties, P407 has been widely investigated as a temperature-responsive material. The gelation phenomenon of P407 aqueous solutions is reversible and characterized by a sol⁻gel transition temperature. The nanoencapsulation of drugs within biocompatible delivery systems dispersed in P407 hydrogels is a strategy used to increase the local residence time of various bioactives at the injection site. In this mini-review, the state of the art of the most important mixed systems made up of colloidal carriers localized within a P407 hydrogel will be provided in order to illustrate the possibility of obtaining a controlled release of the entrapped drugs and an increase in their therapeutic efficacy as a function of the biomaterial used.

Keywords: colloids; controlled drug release; ethosomes; liposomes; nanoparticles; niosomes; poloxamer 407.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the structure of poloxamer derivatives [22].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Release profiles of ropivacaine from poloxamer 407 (P407) and P407/poloxamer 188 (P188) hydrogels [42].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Advancements realized by the inclusion of various nanocarriers within hydrogels [4].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mechanism of interaction between P407 and conventional (a) or sterically stabilized (b) liposomes. (d0 = diameter of liposomes); (d1 = diameter of liposomes embedded in P407) [92].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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