Prolonging Effects of Polyvinyl Alcohol on Drug Release

Abstract

Polymers are currently of interest as drug delivery systems. The use of polymeric forms of medicinal substances will eliminate or reduce the disadvantages of traditional drugs. The purpose of this work was to assess the ability to prolong the action of polyvinyl alcohol in relation to the drug release when going from dilute to more concentrated solutions. It was established that an increase in the viscosity of the polymer in solution caused by an increase in its concentration results not only in a slowdown in the diffusion of drugs from the polymer solution, but also in a significant decrease in the amount of drugs firmly fixed on the polymer matrix. Since it is the adduct of the polyvinyl alcohol-drug interaction that provides the slow release of the drug from the polymer solution, a decrease in its amount leads to the fact that no enhancement of the prolonging action is observed. It is claimed that when moving from solutions to polymer films, the rate of drug release is also determined by the structure of the polymer matrix. The lower the density of the polymer film, the greater the diffusion coefficient of the drug release from the film. Thus, in the course of evaluating the ability to prolong the action of polyvinyl alcohol, it was shown that using some prolongation techniques, it is possible to achieve targeted regulation of the rate of drug release from polymer dosage forms.