A new drug delivery system using plasma-irradiated pharmaceutical aids

—X controlled-release of theophylline from plasma-irradiated double-compressed tablet composed of poly(styrene-maleic anhydride) or poly(styrene-maleic acid) as a single wall material

Abstract

As a part of the development of the DDS device using plasma-irradiated polymer, the utility of poly(styrene-maleic anhydride) (SMAn) and poly(styrene-maleic acid) (SMA) was investigated. From the results of plasma degradation tests and the electron spin resonance (ESR) studies on plasma-irradiated SMAn and SMA, it was found that they were of intramolecular bifunctionality, cross-linkable phenyl group and degradable maleic anhydride or maleic acid group as an effect of plasma irradiation. Using these plasma characteristics, controlled-release tablets were designed by argon plasma irradiation on the outer layer of double-compressed tablet prepared from theophylline as a core material and SMAn or SMA as a single wall material. The dissolution profiles of theophylline from plasma-irradiated double-compressed tablet were sufficiently modified in comparison with one of non-plasma-irradiated tablet, depending on the set of chosen plasma operational conditions.