XYLOGLUCAN GELS AS SUSTAINED-RELEASE VEHICLES FOR THE INTRAPERITONEALADMINISTRATION OF MITOMYCIN-C

Thermoreversible gels formed by a xyloglucan polysaccharide derived fr om tamarind seed were evaluated as a sustained-release vehicle for the intraperitoneal administration of mitomycin C (MMC). The in vitro rel ease of MMC from gels prepared from galactoxyloglucan that had been pa rtially degraded by beta-galactosidase to eliminate 44% of galactose r esidues followed root-time kinetics over 5 h. Intraperitoneal administ ration of MMC in a 1.5% (w/w) xyloglucan gel to rats resulted in a bro ad concentration-time profile for this drug in both the ascites and th e plasma over a 3-h time period, compared with a narrow peak and rapid disappearance from both sites when this drug was given i.p. as a solu tion. (C) Published by 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.