Collagen based nanobubbles for controlled drug release

Nanobubbles are basically nanosized bubbles designed to increase the structural stability and distribution of the transported drug to the targeted site. Due to their small size, they can penetrate into the desired area from the bloodstream. The structure of the bubbles contains gas inside, surrounded by an outer shell. There are studies in the literature that include non-invasive, targeted drug delivery systems by using nanobubbles. In this thesis study, perfluoropentane (PFP), which has low solubility in aqueous media and does not show toxic effects at low doses, is used as a gaseous filler. When drug-loaded nanobubbles burst into a cavity with the effect of ultrasound, they cause temporary pores to form on the cell surfaces and increase the cellular uptake of the loaded drug. In this study, because of the biodegradability and excellent biocompatibility, a well known protein, collagen was used to prepare nanobubbles for the release of Ibrutinib, which is used for the treatment of lymph cancer. In accordance with this purpose, characterization studies were accomplished using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), light microscopy, and zeta-size/potential techniques. The release studies of collagen nanobubbles prepared having different drug doses were carried out in a Franz cell using a dialysis membrane at different pH (5.5-7.4) and temperature (4.0-40.0oC) range. In the releasing experiments with collagen nanobubbles, it was observed that approximately 70% of the drug was released within 6 days at pH 7.4 whereas the same result was reached within 24 h with collagen nanobubbles blasting by ultrasound. At the same time, a cytotoxicity study was carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the synthesized nanobubbles.