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Gel Could Offer Way to Give Injection Drugs Orally
Reuters Health
By Amy Norton
Monday, September 20, 2004
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A gel that withstands the acidic environment of the stomach could help create oral versions of drugs that currently must be given by injection, scientists reported on Monday.
So far, the gel has been tested only in the lab. But if it works similarly in the human body, it "could prove useful for delivering drugs to the colon to treat cancer or digestive diseases like Crohn's disease," co-investigator Dr. Sunil K. Bajpai told Reuters Health. It might also allow diabetics to take insulin in a pill form rather than injecting it, the researcher said.
The problem in giving drugs to treat these and other diseases is that after being broken down in the stomach, not enough of the drug gets to the target tissue.
To get around the problem, scientists in India created a synthetic "hydrogel" designed to hold up to stomach acids but yield to the more-alkaline surroundings of the intestines.
In experiments, they found that a hydrogel container holding vitamin B2 largely withstood acidic conditions like those of the stomach, and released most of the vitamin when in a low-acid, colon-like pH.
Bajpai and Seema Dubey of the Government Model Science College in Jabalpur report the findings in the journal Polymer International.
The hydrogel includes as one of its ingredients acrylamide, a chemical that can cause cancer in lab animals. Acrylamide made the news when scientists discovered two years ago that certain cooked foods contain the substance.
Bajpai and Dubey acknowledge acrylamide's status as a potential carcinogen, but also point to research suggesting that when packaged as a "polyacrylamide" in a drug delivery device, acrylamide would not produce toxic effects.
According to Bajpai, acrylamide is "not degraded so easily" and is likely to be excreted from the body without causing harm.
"However," Bajpai noted, "it requires some detailed investigation, which we shall carry out."
SOURCE: Polymer International, September 20, 2004.
Reuters HealthBy Amy Norton
Monday, September 20, 2004
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A gel that withstands the acidic environment of the stomach could help create oral versions of drugs that currently must be given by injection, scientists reported on Monday.
So far, the gel has been tested only in the lab. But if it works similarly in the human body, it "could prove useful for delivering drugs to the colon to treat cancer or digestive diseases like Crohn's disease," co-investigator Dr. Sunil K. Bajpai told Reuters Health. It might also allow diabetics to take insulin in a pill form rather than injecting it, the researcher said.
The problem in giving drugs to treat these and other diseases is that after being broken down in the stomach, not enough of the drug gets to the target tissue.
To get around the problem, scientists in India created a synthetic "hydrogel" designed to hold up to stomach acids but yield to the more-alkaline surroundings of the intestines.
In experiments, they found that a hydrogel container holding vitamin B2 largely withstood acidic conditions like those of the stomach, and released most of the vitamin when in a low-acid, colon-like pH.
Bajpai and Seema Dubey of the Government Model Science College in Jabalpur report the findings in the journal Polymer International.
The hydrogel includes as one of its ingredients acrylamide, a chemical that can cause cancer in lab animals. Acrylamide made the news when scientists discovered two years ago that certain cooked foods contain the substance.
Bajpai and Dubey acknowledge acrylamide's status as a potential carcinogen, but also point to research suggesting that when packaged as a "polyacrylamide" in a drug delivery device, acrylamide would not produce toxic effects.
According to Bajpai, acrylamide is "not degraded so easily" and is likely to be excreted from the body without causing harm.
"However," Bajpai noted, "it requires some detailed investigation, which we shall carry out."
SOURCE: Polymer International, September 20, 2004.
