ABSTRACT
The recent medical literature contains a number of references to several promising applications for collagen-based drug delivery devices. Since most current promising drug delivery applications of collagen involve either collagen-based implants or ocular inserts, this survey is concerned primarily with two types of applications. Thus, it was concluded that the crosslinked collagen implant is capable of providing high and prolonged concentrations of gentamicin, and possibly other antibiotics, at the site of implantation. Although Firsov et al. consistently indicated that their collagen implants were biodegradable, no direct histological, weight loss, or radiotracer data demonstrating implant biodegradability or rate of biodegradation were presented. All pellets evaluated were implanted subcutaneously in male Long-Evans rats. Heparin-containing implants had a more distinct fibrillar organization than implants free of heparin, and this may have provided a better environment for cell invasion.
