A group of ISC RAS scientists under the leadership of Doctor of Chemical Sciences Irina Terekhova has developed gels containing methotrexate, a drug widely applied in the form of tablets and solutions for injections to treat autoimmune diseases and cancers.
To prepare methotrexate gels the researchers used iota carregeenan, a natural biocompatible polymer extracted from red seaweeds of the Е. spinosum species. Iota carregeenan is a good gelling agent.
To improve the aqueous solubility, the scientists included β-cyclodextrin in the gel composition, which also increased the methotrexate content in the gel by 8 times without affecting other important properties.
The researchers assume that the technology developed by them will make it possible to optimized the methotrexate content in the gels and to achieve the desired therapeutic effect and minimize the gel toxicity.
Now the ISC RAS researchers are looking for an industrial partner to carry out pre-clinical and clinical studies of the gels.
The study was financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant No.22-23-00891).
More information about the study can be found at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167732222023297
