UC San Diego

The first part of this thesis presents a thorough review of the recent advances that have been made in the area of drug delivery, specifically in regards to the encapsulation of biomolecules and drugs in polymeric vehicles has been addressed in the this work. The purpose of this work is to provide scientists with a general understanding of the common encapsulation techniques that are currently being used and the applications towards which they are being applied. Building upon the work demonstrated by others in the field of drug delivery, the second part of this thesis presents a research project designed to explore the potential for the development of pH-degradable particles containing thrombin as a possible avenue for the delivery of a scaffold to coronary artery walls to promote cardiac function after a myocardial infarction. The results gathered for the particles developed herein suggest that this the injection of thrombin-loaded polymeric particles is a viable option for the creation of a natural scaffold at the site of a myocardial infarct to promote cell survival and decrease the risk for heart failure in the future