Use of hyaluronic acid coated, pH-sensitive solid lipidnanoparticle-MOF composites in transdermal systems for drug delivery

It is known that in ancient China around 2000 BCE, patches were used for treating pain and wounds on the body. These types of patches are considered the earliest examples of transdermal delivery systems used today. The human body is exposed to various damages, both internally and externally. For many years, oral drug administration has been the conventional method for treating such conditions. However, while these drugs can be effective at the target site, they may also cause adverse effects on other tissues and organs due to systemic distribution. To overcome this limitation, the number of studies on transdermal drug delivery systems has significantly increased over the past two decades. Transdermal systems offer a more effective means of delivering drugs with known systemic side effects or short half-lives, as they enable targeted delivery through the skin. In this study, a type of metal–organic framework (MOF) was selected due to its ability to degrade at skin pH, aiming to achieve prolonged drug release. MOFs are known for their exceptionally high surface area, tunable pore sizes, and adjustable internal surface properties. It is hypothesized that the pH-sensitive NMOF-5 structure will enable sustained release of the drug at the target site. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) will be employed to facilitate the transdermal delivery of quercetin (QUE). Since SLNs exhibit enhanced release properties when coated with polymers, hyaluronic acid (HA) was chosen as a coating material. The composite structure QUE@MOF@SLN@HA developed in this thesis is considered original due to its pH responsiveness and sustained drug release capability. The synthesized composite was characterized using various analytical techniques, including FTIR, SEM, XRD, and UV-VIS spectroscopy.