AQUEOUS COMPOSITIONS WHICH GEL REVERSIBLY AS TEMPERATURE AND PH CHANGE (CONTAINING TWO SUITABLE POLYMERS); USE AS A CARRIER FOR MEDICAMENTS

摘要

Reversibly gelling aqueous compositions are disclosed which undergo significant changes in viscosity in response to substantially simultaneous changes in both temperature and pH. The compositions are formed of relatively low concentrations of a stable combination of at least one pH-sensitive reversibly gelling polymer and at least one temperature-sensitive reversibly gelling polymer. The compositions can be formulated to exhibit a sol-gel transition over a wide range of conditions and viscosities and may be modified to incorporate a pharmaceutical compound for utilization as droppable or injectable drug delivery systems which will gel following administration to a physiological system for the sustained delivery of such pharmaceutical compounds.