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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Canalostomy As a Surgical Approach to Local Drug Delivery into the Inner Ears of Adult and Neonatal Mice
Published on: May 25, 2018
A novel controlled local drug delivery system for inner ear disease
David P Paulson1, Waleed Abuzeid, Hao Jiang
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Purpose:
Our goal is to develop a novel drug delivery system that can potentially improve clinical outcomes compared to current methods of dosing drugs such as dexamethasone or gentamicin. This system focuses on a single local application to the inner ear via the round window membrane.
Hypothesis:
A chitosan-glycerophosphate (CGP)-hydrogel based drug delivery system can be engineered to provide local and sustained drug release to the inner ear.
Study Design:
In vitro: drug release and (CGP)-hydrogel matrix degradation were characterized using dexamethasone as a model drug. In vivo: dexamethasone laden CGP-hydrogel was placed in the round window niche of mice. Perilymph samples were obtained from the oval window and analyzed for dexamethasone. The impact of CGP-hydrogel on auditory function was evaluated.
Results:
In vitro: A CGP-hydrogel was designed to release 92% of the dexamethasone load over 4 consecutive days with concurrent degradation of the hydrogel matrix. In vivo: After surgical placement of CGP-hydrogel to the round window niche, we detected elevated levels of dexamethasone in perilymph for 5 days. Auditory function testing revealed a temporary hearing loss in the immediate postoperative period, which resolved by the 10th postoperative day.
Conclusions:
We report the development of CGP-hydrogel, a biodegradable matrix that achieves local, sustained delivery of dexamethasone to the inner ear. There were no significant complications resulting from the surgical procedure or the administration of CGP-hydrogel to our murine model.
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