Ashton, Mark and Cooper, Patricia and Municoy, Sofia and Desimone, Martin and Cheneler, David and Shnyder, Steven and Hardy, John (2022) Controlled Bioactive Delivery Using Degradable Electroactive Polymers. Biomacromolecules, 23 (7). pp. 3031-3040. ISSN 1525-7797
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Biomaterials capable of precisely controlling the delivery of agrochemicals/biologics/drugs/fragrances have significant markets in the agriscience/healthcare industries. Here, we report the development of degradable electroactive polymers and their application for the controlled delivery of a clinically relevant drug (the anti-inflammatory dexamethasone phosphate, DMP). Electroactive copolymers composed of blocks of polycaprolactone (PCL) and naturally occurring electroactive pyrrole oligomers (e.g., bilirubin, biliverdin, and hemin) were prepared and solution-processed to produce films (optionally doped with DMP). A combination of in silico/in vitro/in vivo studies demonstrated the cytocompatibility of the polymers. The release of DMP in response to the application of an electrical stimulus was observed to be enhanced by ca. 10–30% relative to the passive release from nonstimulated samples in vitro. Such stimuli-responsive biomaterials have the potential for integration devices capable of delivering a variety of molecules for technical/medical applications.