Chlorpromazine–Polypyrrole Drug Delivery System Tailored for Neurological Application

Abstract

Nowadays, drug delivery systems (DDSs) are gaining more and more attention. Conducting polymers (CPs) are efficiently used for DDS construction as such systems can be used in therapy. In this research, a well-known CP, polypyrrole (PPy), was synthesized in the presence of the polysaccharide heparin (HEP) and chlorpromazine (CPZ) using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as electrolyte on a steel substrate. The obtained results demonstrate the successful incorporation of CPZ and HEP into the polymer matrix, with the deposited films maintaining stable electrochemical parameters across multiple doping/dedoping cycles. Surface roughness, estimated via AFM analysis, revealed a correlation with layer thickness—decreasing for thinner layers and increasing for thicker ones. Moreover, SEM images revealed a change in the morphology of PPy films when PPy is electropolymerized in the presence of CPZ and HEP, while FTIR confirmed the presence of CPZ and HEP within PPy. Due to its lower molecular mass compared to HEP, CPZ was readily integrated into the thin polymer matrix during deposition, with diffusion being unimpeded, as opposed to films with greater thickness. Finally, the resulting system exhibited the ability to release CPZ, enabling a dosing range of 10 mg to 20 mg per day, effectively covering the therapeutic concentration range.

Keywords

• drug delivery system
• conducting polymers
• polypyrrole
• phenothiazine derivatives
• heparin