Design of Hollow Hyaluronic Acid Cylinders for Sustained Intravitreal Protein Delivery.

A hollow cylinder intravitreal implant was developed to achieve sustained release of protein to the retina for the treatment of retinal diseases. Hollow cylinders were fabricated by molding and cross-linking hyaluronic acid, the major component of the vitreous humor. Hollow cylinders were filled with a concentrated protein solution, and the properties of the cylinder walls were tested.

Thermogelling properties of purified poloxamer 407.

Poloxamers are triblock copolymers with a center block of hydrophobic polypropylene oxide (PPO) flanked by two hydrophilic polyethyleneoxide (PEO) blocks. Among this family of copolymers, poloxamer 407 is a non-ionic surfactant with reversible gelation properties above a particular polymer concentration and a particular temperature. Easy preparation of poloxamer 407 based sterile injectable formulations have made this copolymer a good candidate for drug delivery, specifically when controlled release of the drug is required.

Thermosensitive Gel-Based Formulation for Intratumoral Delivery of Toll-Like Receptor 7/8 Dual Agonist, MEDI9197.

Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists TLR 7/8, MEDI9197, is a imidazoquinoline analogue that can be used for cancer immunotherapy based on its efficacy toward a variety of tumors. Systemic administration of TLR agonists results in stimulation of the immune system throughout the entire body causing undesirable side effects. To minimize these adverse events, local administration of TLR agonists including intratumoral (IT) delivery has been introduced.

Engineered in-situ depot-forming hydrogels for intratumoral drug delivery.

Chemotherapy is the traditional treatment for intermediate and late stage cancers. The search for treatment options with minimal side effects has been ongoing for several years. Drug delivery technologies that result in minimal or no side effects with improved ease of use for the patients are receiving increased attention.

Structure, size, and solubility of antigen arrays determines efficacy in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Presentation of antigen with immune stimulating "signal" has been a cornerstone of vaccine design for decades. Here, the antigen plus immune "signal" of vaccines is modified to produce antigen-specific immunotherapies (antigen-SITs) that can potentially reprogram the immune response toward tolerance of an autoantigen. The codelivery of antigen with a cell adhesion inhibitor using Soluble Antigen Arrays (SAgAs) was previously shown to slow or halt experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine form of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Hyaluronic acid colloidal gels as self-assembling elastic biomaterials.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring biodegradable polymer with a variety of applications in medicine. The use of HA as a filler or scaffold for regenerating tissues often requires improving the elastic properties of HA. This is conventionally accomplished via chemical crosslinking, which might require the generation of toxic free radicals.

Hyaluronic acid nanoparticles titrate the viscoelastic properties of viscosupplements.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan with diverse biomedical applications including viscosupplementation of synovial fluid for the treatment osteoarthritis. Current HA viscosupplements such as Synvisc, Orthovisc, and Hyalgan have shown positive effects of reducing pain and improving joint function. The therapeutic efficacy, however, is highly transient, and these viscous fluids suffer from poor injectability.

Controlling ligand surface density optimizes nanoparticle binding to ICAM-1.

During infection, pathogens utilize surface receptors to gain entry into intracellular compartments. Multiple receptor-ligand interactions that lead to pathogen internalization have been identified and the importance of multivalent ligand binding as a means to facilitate internalization has emerged. The effect of ligand density, however, is less well known.

"Soft" calcium crosslinks enable highly efficient gene transfection using TAT peptide.

Purpose: Typically, low molecular weight cationic peptides or polymers exhibit poor transfection efficiency due to an inability to condense plasmid DNA into small nanoparticles. Here, efficient gene delivery was attained using TAT/pDNA complexes containing calcium crosslinks.

Methods: Electrostatic complexes of pDNA with TAT or PEI were studied with increasing calcium concentration.

Particle size design of PLGA microspheres for potential pulmonary drug delivery using response surface methodology.

The large surface area, good vascularization, immense capacity for solute exchange and ultra-thinness of the alveolar epithelium are unique features of the lung facilitating systemic drug delivery via pulmonary administration. The efficacy and safety of many new and existing inhaled therapies may be enhanced through advanced controlled-release systems by using polymer particles. Poly (D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is well known by its safety in biomedical preparations which has been approved for human use by the FDA.