Designing Medical Devices Based on Silicon Polymeric Material with Controlled Release of Local Anesthetics

The drug delivery systems that are the object of this article take the form of a polymer matrix made of silicone containing a drug. These devices can be used as patches for local dermal applications releasing the drug in a controlled manner. The model active agent, lidocaine hydrochloride was chosen from the range of local anesthetics. When the drug is restricted to the surface, it is released more rapidly than when it is allowed to spread evenly throughout the silicon structure. When hydrophilic polymers such as PVA and HEC are mixed in with the lidocaine hydrochloride and deposited on the surface of the polymer matrix, we observed that the burst effect was eliminated without modifying the overall quantity of lidocaine hydrochloride released.