Polymers and hydrogels to deter drug abuse

In pharmaceutical formulations, polymers are traditionally and commonly used as viscosifier, binder, gelling agent, suspending agent, protective agent, controlled-release medium, adhesive, and packaging material. With the development of the abuse-deterrent formulations in recent years, a new application for polymers has emerged where they are being utilized as deterring agents to reduce the abuse potential of various drugs including opioids. Due to their wide spectrum of chemical structures, molecular weights, and crosslink densities, certain polymers can provide powerful tools that can help opioid medications to resist abuse by physical, chemical, and mechanical means. The opioid abuse by crushing followed by insufflation and via extraction followed by injection can dramatically decrease due to desirable thermal, mechanical, rheological, binding, and solubility behavior of polymers. Although the use of polymers shown to be effective in reducing the abuse potential of major opioids, extensive research is still underway to exploit polymers in a more effective and safer way to tackle the opioid epidemics.