Multidrug Delivery in Metal-Organic Frameworks with Backbone-Coordinated Medications — 92a — Liliana Ingalls, Gabrielle Amrouni

The vast majority of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are organic small molecules, resulting in poor physiological solubilities and pharmacokinetics. Therefore, Drug-Delivery Systems (DDSs) with tunable properties are desired to enhance the efficacy of APIs, especially with multi-API treatments. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous, crystalline materials that are promising for drug delivery applications due to their periodic structure and customizable metrics. In this work, we aim to use MOFs as a DDS for multiple APIs independently by segregating them into different regions within the MOF: one API is localized to the pore environments while a second API is incorporated into the backbone of the MOF structure. Our target application is the treatment of gout, an arthritis-like condition caused by the buildup of urate crystals in joints causing inflammation and pain. Common treatments include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain and allopurinol (ALP), a xanthine-oxidase inhibitor, for etiological relief. Using two ALP-based MOFs, we studied the loading and release profiles of two NSAIDs using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results indicate that the maximum encapsulation efficiency for both MOFs is approximately 7% after 24 hours of loading. Future research will focus on synthesizing novel ALP-based MOFs with greater porosities to increase the encapsulation efficiency.

Augustana University
Dr. Zachary Schulte