Thesis (M.Sc.)--Chulalongkorn University, 2012

In medication of otolaryngology, tracheostomy tube, which is made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), is used in patients who are suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to provide an airway and reduce secretions from the lung. However, intubation usually causes infection. Here we show the fabrication of PDMS tube with anti-inflammatory activity. Budesonide was encapsulated into ethylcellulose (EC) nanoparticles by solvent displacement process. The obtained nanoparticles possessed 33.26 ± 0.23 % (w/w) of budesonide loading and the process gave 49.83 ± 0.11% of encapsulation efficiency. The budesonide-loaded particles were grafted onto PDMS tube by first functionalizing the PDMS with carboxylic acid functionality and then coupling the budesonide-loaded particles with the functionalized PDMS surface. In vitro release of budesonide from the modified PDMS tubes at 37°C, pH 5.8 showed prolonged release for more than 10 days. Therefore, the PDMS tube that could slowly release an anti-inflammatory drug, budesonide, could be fabricated successfully.