PhD student Queen's University Belfast Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Introduction: The combination of a calcium channel blocker and an alpha-2 adrenergic agonist, nifedipine (NIF) and clonidine hydrochloride (CLH), delivers synergistic efficacy in managing moderately severe hypertension.1,2 The therapeutic objectives for oral dosage forms of these drugs have not been fully achieved due to poor patient adherence.3 Additionally, these compounds limit clinical outcomes because of low oral availability, approximately 45% (NIF) and 55% (CLH). Therefore, this research focuses on developing biocompatible low-molecular-weight poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-based dissolving microarray patches (DMAPs) for minimally invasive and sustained drug delivery.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the DMAPs formulation using biocompatible polymers loaded with anti-hypertensive drugs.
Apply the physical characterisation techniques to evaluate the properties of PAA-based DMAPs.
Assess PAA-based DMAPs using microscopic evaluations and drug assay to determine morphology and drug distribution.
