The aim of the project is to explore the effect of a pH- sensitive drug- polymer complex on Intestinal Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) by demonstrating the link between toll-like receptors (TLR) in t..
The aim of the project is to explore the effect of a pH- sensitive drug- polymer complex on Intestinal Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) by demonstrating the link between toll-like receptors (TLR) in the pathogenesis of inflammation and formulate a silymarin complex as a potential drug formulation. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) affects approximately 1.6 million Americans, and there are up to 70,000 new cases every year. Proctitis is a condition where the lining of the rectum becomes inflamed; approximately 750,000 Americans live with this condition. Currently, all available pharmaceutical solutions have poor bioavailability for IBD and proctitis, and we anticipate the pH sensitive polymer will aid in overcoming this issue. We developed a stable drug-polymer complex of Silymarin using a combination of pH-sensitive polymers through nano-precipitation methods. This project demonstrates the ideal combination of solvents, polymers, and stabilizers for the most effective combination for pH sensitive delivery. The characterization of the drug polymer complex was through Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and concentration was measured using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent using UV-visible spectroscopy. The other tests performed include drug loading, compound size, and dissociation profile under different pH’s. For future tests, the complex will be surveyed for biochemical, and genetic changes in animal tissues to understand the role that TLRs play in the causation of inflammation.