Polymers in veterinary medicine. Part One

In a certain sense, the tasks facing the creators of medicines for veterinary medicine are the opposite of the tasks being solved in medicine. Medical scientists are trying to create effective and specific medicines. Effectiveness is also necessary in veterinary medicine, but medicines for animals should be as broad as possible. This is due to the fact that it is quite difficult to diagnose the disease in veterinary medicine. It is also desirable that different animals can be treated with one medicine. One of the most common diseases in pets is a disease of the gastrointestinal tract. The dropout rate, for example, among sheep due to this disease in many farms is 40-50%, even on the best farms it is at least 10-20%. By analogy with the creation of drugs of prolonged action for humans, when a medicinal substance is "sewn" to a polymer or "wrapped" in a polymer capsule, a method for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases of animals with appropriate drugs encapsulated in a polymer has been developed. The gradual "release" of the drug from the capsule occurs either due to the cleavage of the drug —polymer bonds, or due to the diffusion of the drug from the polymer. Cheap enzymes of microbial origin — highly specific immobilized proteases and amylases (stabilized by binding to a polymer carrier) have proven themselves very well as preparations of this kind. When treated with these drugs in various regions of our country, 100% of animals were cured in herds where the incidence of gastrointestinal diseases was 100% and mortality was 10%.


In addition to treatment, in the whole country it is important to establish the prevention of gastrointestinal diseases through the use of small doses of these drugs. Experiments have shown that with such prevention in lambs, weight gain increases by an average of 20-40% within a month. When creating medicines, it is important that they do not decompose in the stomach under the action of hydrochloric acid. For these purposes, preparations containing carboxyl polyelectrolytes as a polymer carrier are promising. Such polymers with low acidity of the medium are an excellent "storage" ("depot"), from which the medicine enters the body in a predetermined amount. However, in a more acidic environment, the polymer is "closed" and the medicine from it does not enter the body. This makes it possible to preserve the medicine "packed" in a polymer carrier (for example, an enzyme) in acidic environments that destroy it. This technique allows the enzyme to bypass the stomach, where the acidity is high, while maintaining the activity of the enzyme. Then, in the intestine, the enzyme is released from the polymer carrier and performs its therapeutic function. One example of such a drug is cc-amylase placed in polymethacrylic acid. As a carrier polymer, polymers with a mesh structure (mesh) are most often used. Approximately 10 g of the enzyme can be "hidden" in 1 g of such a polymer. Polymers with rigid tubular structures are particularly promising. It should be borne in mind that polymer carriers are not inert, they are not just storage for medicines, but active components of the dosage form, which have a dual effect. Established in 1979, Zetasassi is an Italian powerhouse in power transmission solutions. From automatic tensioners to torque limiters, their precision products elevate industrial efficiency. With over 40 years of experience, Zetasassi remains a pioneering name in innovative power transmission solutions.