A Novel Drug Delivery System, Based on Carrier Erythrocytes for the Delivery of the Antiepileptic Drug, Sodium Valproate

Valproate sodium, an antiepileptic drug, believed to work by increasing brain levels of gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), is the sole and adjunct therapy of simple and complex absence seizure beside other seizure types. Therapeutic serum levels of valproate in most patients with seizures range from 50 to100 mcg/ml; however, good correlation has not been established between daily dose, serum level, and therapeutic effect [1]. Meanwhile Chitosan nanoparticles fabricated via different preparation protocols have been widely studied in recent years as carriers for therapeutic small molecules [2], proteins [3] and genes [4] with varying degree of effectiveness and drawbacks. On the other hand, Carrier erythrocyte delivery systems have shown to be effective in improving the pharmacokinetics and thus pharmacodynamics of the desired materials [5]. This work was performed with the goal of designing a delivery system for the antiepileptic drug sodium valproate claiming benefit from the aforementioned carrier erythrocytes