Application of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate polymers in controlled release of 5-aminosalicylic acid as a colon-specific drug

Acrylic type polymeric systems having degradable ester bonds linked to 5-aminosalicylic acid were synthesized and evaluated as materials for drug delivery. 5-Aminosalicylic acid, as an important drug in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, was linked to 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate by activated ester methodology in two-step and one-pot procedures to obtain methacryloyloxyethyl 5-amino salicylate. The resulting methacrylic derivative of 5-aminosalicylic acid was copolymerized with methacrylamide, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate (in 1:3 mole ratio) by free radical polymerization method in N,N-dimethylformamide solution, utilizing α,ά-azoisobutyronitrile as initiator at the temperature range of 65–70 °C. The obtained polymers were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and elemental analysis. The average molecular weights of the polymers bearing drug units as side substituents of the acrylic backbone were determined by gel permeation chromatography and their polydispersity indices resulted in the range of 1.6–1.8. Release studies of 5-aminosalicylic acid were performed into dialysis bags by hydrolysis in buffered solutions (pH 1, 7 and 8) at 37 °C. Detection of hydrolysis by UV spectroscopy at selected intervals showed that the drug can be released by selective hydrolysis of the ester bond at the side of drug moiety. The release profiles indicated that the hydrolytic behavior of polymeric prodrugs is strongly based on the polymer hydrophilicity and the pH value of the hydrolysis solution. The results suggest that these systems could be useful for preparation of a controlled release formulation of 5-aminosalicylic acid in colon.