Medical applications of membranes: Drug delivery, artificial organs and tissue engineering

Abstract

This paper covers the main medical applications of artificial membranes. Specific attention is given to drug delivery systems, artificial organs and tissue engineering which seem to dominate the interest of the membrane community this period. In all cases, the materials, methods and the current state of the art are evaluated and future prospects are discussed. Concerning drug delivery systems, attention is paid to diffusion controlled systems. For the transdermal delivery systems, passive as well as iontophoretic systems are described in more detail. Concerning artificial organs, we cover in detail: artificial kidney, membrane oxygenation, artificial liver, artificial pancreas as well as the application of membranes for tissue engineering scaffolds and bioreactors. This review shows the important role of membrane science and technology in medical applications but also highlights the importance of collaboration of membrane scientists with others (biologists, bioengineers, medical doctors, etc.

Application of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles in development of an enhanced formulation for delivering sustained release of triamcinolone acetonide

“…[37][38][39][40][41] The purpose of the present study is to systematically incorporate specific excipients into TR-loaded PLGA in situ gel formulations in order to evaluate the burst effect in vivo. The hot-plate test was administered to mice to assess their response to TR release.…”

Mechanical properties of a nanoporous membrane used in implantable medical devices. Correlation between experimental characterization and 2D numerical simulation

“…The principle consists in carrying insulin secretory cells/islets from human or animal origins in order to physiologically respond to the patient's body needs in terms of insulin (Ludwig et al, 2013). Such devices are composed of living cells held within porous membranes that protect them from organisms such as antibodies which can destroy them (Dulebohn et al, 2014), and have porosities that allow some hormones and biomolecules to pass through (Stamatialis et al, 2008). This makes it possible to transplant cells for the endocrine regulation without the need of immunosuppressive drugs (Benhamou et al, 2012).…”

pH- and electro-responsive characteristics of silk fibroin–hyaluronic acid polyelectrolyte complex membranes

“…Membrane-based systems have been used for both passive and iontophoretic TDDS (Kost and Langer, 2001;Stamatialis et al, 2008). Electro-responsive or electrically stimulated pH sensitive polyelectrolyte membranes and hydrogels such as chondroitin 4-sulphate hydrogels (Jensen et al, 2002) and PMMA polyelectrolyte membrane (Grimshaw et al, 1990) have been suggested to be promising for the iontophoretic delivery of large charged macromolecules such as proteins and peptides.…”