Drug delivery properties of macroporous polystyrene solid foams.

Purpose: Polymeric porous foams have been evaluated as possible new pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Methods: These materials were obtained by polymerization in the continuous phase of highly concentrated emulsions prepared by the phase inversion temperature method. Their porosity, specific surface and surface topography were characterized, and the incorporation and release of active principles was studied using ketoprofen as model lipophilic molecule.

Results: Solid foams with very high pore volume, mainly inside macropores, were obtained by this method. The pore morphology of the materials was characterized, and very rough topography was observed, which contributed to their nearly superhydrophobic properties. These solid foams could be used as delivery systems for active principles with pharmaceutical interest, and in the present work ketoprofen was used as a model lipophilic molecule.

Conclusions: Drug incorporation and release was studied from solid foam disks, using different concentrations of the loading solutions, achieving a delayed release with short lag-time.