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Skin and Mucosal Delivery (Focus Group – SMD)

Charge Switching Mechanism in Multilayered Silk Films Allows Controlled and Long-Term Release of Multiple Drugs

Benjamin Allardyce – Senior Research Fellow, Deakin University; Pramod Dorishetty – Research Scientist, Ear Science Institute Australia; Fatemeh Ezheian – PhD Candidate, Edith Cowan University; Amir Razmjou Chaharmahali – Professor, Edith Cowan University; Filippo Valente – R&D Manager, Ear Science Institute Australia
Introduction:

Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM) is a persistent middle ear infection, endemic in children in remote and developing regions 1, 2. It causes a perforated eardrum that does not heal and can lead to disabling hearing loss. Treatment involves eardrum surgical reconstruction procedure with oral antibiotic prophylaxis, but drugs often fail to reach therapeutic levels in the ear, requiring repeated dosing and increasing resistance risk. Silk films are ideal for eardrum repair, while loading them with antibiotics provide local delivery to impact CSOM pathogens directly and reduce the rate of repeat surgeries.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand multidrug release behavior from silk films
  • Describe the role of the anionic surfactant in tuning the release of multiple drugs in single material format
  • Evaluate the application and uses of this drug delivery system beyond ear infection