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Nanotoxicology pp 281–298Cite as

Poloxamers as Drug-Delivery Systems: Physicochemical, Pharmaceutical, and Toxicological Aspects

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Part of the book series: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology ((NANOMED))

Abstract

Poloxamers (PL) are copolymers A-B-A type consisting of ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) units in a triblock EOx–POy–EOx arrangement. These copolymers are interesting due to their ability for temperature-dependent gel formation, as a result of their self-assembling in micelles. Several studies have demonstrated the application of the thermoreversible copolymers as drug-delivery systems in order to prolong the drug release, to sustain the effectiveness, and also to reduce local and/or systemic toxicity, connecting the expertise of different research fields such as Biochemistry, Nanotechnology, Biopharmaceutics, Pharmacology, and Toxicology. Then, the purpose of this chapter involves a discussion about PL copolymers in the light of those research fields.

The development of one-type or binary PL carriers systems is a function of composition (type of copolymer, differences on EO/PO units number, molecular weight), physicochemical properties (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance, cloud point, critical micellar concentration), and structural parameters such as micellar size, temperature for micelles, and hydrogels assembling. Besides, for focusing on how PL can be useful to achieve sustained drug release it is necessary to consider their pharmacological properties (such as the ability to inhibit the P-glycoprotein), in vitro (cytotoxicity or cytoprotection and their mechanisms) and in vivo toxicological evaluation (biocompatibility and regulatory aspects).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC – UFABC, Av. dos Estados 5001, Bangú, CEP 09210-580, Santo André, Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Daniele R. de Araújo

  2. Center of Natural and Human Sciences, Universidade Federal do ABC – UFABC, Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil

    Alisson Oshiro, Deyse Cardoso da Silva, Alessandra Cristina Santos Akkari, Joyce Cristine de Mello & Tiago Rodrigues

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  1. Daniele R. de Araújo
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  2. Alisson Oshiro
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  3. Deyse Cardoso da Silva
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  4. Alessandra Cristina Santos Akkari
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  5. Joyce Cristine de Mello
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  6. Tiago Rodrigues
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Correspondence to Daniele R. de Araújo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual de Campinas—UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Nelson Durán

  2. Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Silvia S. Guterres

  3. Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual de Campinas—UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Oswaldo L. Alves

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de Araújo, D.R., Oshiro, A., da Silva, D.C., Akkari, A.C.S., de Mello, J.C., Rodrigues, T. (2014). Poloxamers as Drug-Delivery Systems: Physicochemical, Pharmaceutical, and Toxicological Aspects. In: Durán, N., Guterres, S., Alves, O. (eds) Nanotoxicology. Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8993-1_13

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