The Origins and Evolution of Controlled Drug Delivery Systems

ChEMS Seminar

Featuring Allan S. Hoffman, Sc.D.

Bioengineering Department

University of Washington, Seattle

WCU Distinguished Professor

Kyungpook National University Medical School

Daegu, South Korea



* This seminar is cosponsored by Department of Chemistry and Department of Pharmaceutical Science



Abstract:



In this lecture I will present a short history of the controlled drug delivery field. This exciting and active field is quite young, and really began only around 50 years ago.  The earliest controlled drug delivery devices to reach the clinic were macroscopic in size, and were implanted sub-cutaneously, applied topically on the skin or to mucosal regions of the body, or ingested as tablets.  These devices were designed to provide “zero order” drug delivery. The next important DDS to reach the clinic were injected sub-cutaneously; they were based on degradable polymers in the form of drug-loaded microparticles or phase-separating polymeric masses. These “depot” DDS provided “sustained” release at a specific site in the body.  More recently, many diverse nano-scale DDS have been developed and are being introduced into the clinic. They include PEGylated drugs, polymer-drug conjugates and complexes, PEGylated polymeric micelles, liposomes, nanoparticles, dendrimers and others.  These interesting nano-scale DDS are usually long-circulating, and may be actively or passively targeted to specific cells or tissues in the body.  This area of drug nanocarriers is currently the most active and exciting area of development in the field of controlled DDS.



About the Speaker:



Hoffman received B.S., M.S., and Sc.D. degrees in chemical engineering from MIT between 1953 and 1957. He taught on the faculty of the Chemical Engineering Department at MIT for 10 years and for the past 40 years he has been professor of bioengineering and chemical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has been a pioneer in biomaterials and drug delivery fields and recognized by a number of his leadership positions (president of the Society for Biomaterials, 1983-1984; elected to the National Academy of Engineering, 2005), national and international awards (Clemson Award of the Society for Biomaterials, 1984;  Biomaterials Science Prize of the Japanese Society for Biomaterials, 1990; Chandra Sharma Award of the Society for Biomaterials and Artificial Organs of India, 2003;  International Recognition Award of the Society for Polymer Science of Japan, 2006; Founders’ Award of the Controlled Release Society, 2007), Fellowships (American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers; International College of Fellows of Biomaterials Societies; Controlled Release Society), and honorary professorships (Wuhan University of Technology, China; Shanghai University, China, 2005; Aarhus University, Denmark).