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Oral Delivery (Focus Group - OrD)

(445) Dual-Responsive HEMA-Based Hydrogels for Targeted Colonic Delivery of Metronidazole.

Introduction: Colon-targeted drug delivery systems offer promise for managing localized colon diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, affecting 4.9 million annually (Wang et al., 2023). The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) presents challenges for oral drug delivery due to fluctuating pH and diverse enzymes, requiring advanced systems to prevent premature release. Enzyme- and pH-responsive hydrogels protect drugs from harsh GI conditions, minimize early release, and enable controlled, site-specific delivery to the colon, improving therapeutic efficacy and reducing systemic side effects (Onuora, 2020).

Learning Objectives:

  • Demonstrate dual-responsive hydrogels' ability to prevent premature drug release in upper GI tract.
  • Assess how enzyme-responsive crosslinkers like DMAAB enhance specificity for colonic drug release.
  • Explain the role of pH-responsive hydrogels in targeting varying pH regions of the GI tract.