Pranee adopted chitosan derivative, a biodegradable material extracted from seashell waste, to develop a new medium to deliver drugs into the human body more efficiently.

By adopting nanotechnology, Pranee plans to make her new drug delivery system the size of a nano-particle. At this size, she said, drugs could enter targeted organs better as required for treatment.

Under this method, she mixes nano-particles of both chitosan derivative and the required drug together, so that the drug can be delivered to target organs before its release. This eliminates side effects that may strike other organs that the drug passes through.

However, Pranee and her team also have to develop a process to produce nano-particles and are now in the process of developing an instrument that will produce the particles which could contain the necessary drugs, and the prototype is expected to be ready by next year.

This development is part of a project funded by the National Research Council of Thailand. Drug delivery systems on a nano scale could be a new way of offering better medical treatment as they help doctors tackle diseases or damaged cells in a localised area, without harming other cells or organs.

Pranee said she hoped that her development would eventually come out with a nano-size drug delivery system that would not only deliver drugs to targeted areas but also determine the period of time for their release.

In the first stage, she plans to develop a nano-particle drug delivery system to prolong the effects of lidocane, a kind of anaesthetic used during minor operations.

Lidocane has 15 to 30 minutes of active time, but Pranee hopes that her development will considerably extend the drug's active time.

Apart from making the drug delivery system small in size, she had to study the material's properties as well as the efficiency and timing of drug release.

When the project is complete, she hopes the nano-particle drug delivery system for lidocane could be adapted to develop anaesthetic drugs in the form of creams or sprays.

Meanwhile, the research to produce nano-particles can also be used to develop drug delivery systems for other kinds of drugs. To support the main project in the nano-polymer development for drug delivery system project, Pranee will apply her method for use with AZT, an antiviral drug prescribed in the treatment of Aids.

The use of AZT offers only 60-per-cent efficiency and causes side effects in patients. Pranee said using the nano-particle method for the AZT delivery system was a way to increase the drug's efficiency, and more importantly, make the drug reach a targeted area. This would reduce side effects that may occur while the drug pass through non-target cells or organs.

"The development of a drug delivery system is important as it helps the drug take effect on target cells in particular, so other cells do not get harmed by the drug," she added.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation