The release of ibuprofen sodium salt from permanently porous poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate) resins

• Porous resins obtained via suspension-emulsion polymerization are studied.
• Swelling of the porous polymer in the drug solution is tested.
• The polymer is a host material for an active agent.
• Drug diffusion efficiency is controlled by adjustment of hydrophilic monomer content.

This study describes a newly synthesized crosslinked polymer poly(TRIM) (trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, TRIM) and copolymers poly(HEMA-co-TRIM) (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, HEMA) as well as polymer–drug conjugates based on them. The resins were produced in the form of permanently porous beads via suspension-emulsion polymerization. The set of polymer–drug conjugates was prepared by loading ibuprofen sodium salt (IBNa) into polymer matrices by their swelling. Our study involves the characterization of polymers and polymer–drug conjugates, studies on the swelling of resins in the selected solvents as well as characteristics of drug release from conjugates. The conducted analyses reveal that the internal structure, total porosity and swelling characteristics of resins strongly depend on the presence of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate. The release profiles of ibuprofen sodium salt from the polymer−drug conjugates demonstrate that there are differences in the rate and efficiency of drug desorption from conjugates.

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