Xylan-Based Hydrogels: A Polymeric Carrier for Sustained and Targeted Delivery of Drugs

Abstract

In spite of good advancement for diagnosis and treatment, cancer is the second most common disease after cardiovascular disorders, may be responsible for maximum deaths in the world. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. Among cancers, colon or colorectal cancer is the second most common form of cancer globally with 916,000 deaths reported annually. Colon is the largest part of large intestine extending from ileocecal junction to anus. The delivery of drugs to the targeted site such as colon requires protection to the drug. As the most of the drugs are unstable in the gastric environment of the stomach and are susceptible to absorb in the upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT). This causes poor drug bioavailability and diminishes their efficacy against inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Thus, to deliver a drug to the targeted site such as colon via GIT requires protection from an undesirable release in the upper GIT to achieve maximal pharmacological effect, while administered orally. As a consequence, protection of drugs can be achieved by xylan-based hydrogel polymeric carriers, which are of non-toxic and biocompatible nature, and which can also undergo in-vivo biodegradation easily.