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Sustained release of dexamethasone from drug‐loading PLGA scaffolds with specific pore structure fabricated by supercritical CO 2 foaming
Author(s) -
Xin Xin,
Guan YiXin,
Yao ShanJing
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.46207
Subject(s) - supercritical fluid , plga , materials science , chemical engineering , porosity , controlled release , dexamethasone , tissue engineering , scanning electron microscope , drug delivery , nucleation , biomedical engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , composite material , organic chemistry , nanoparticle , endocrinology , engineering , medicine
ABSTRACT Inducing differentiation of bone marrow stem cells to generate new bone tissue is highly desirable by controlling the release of some osteoinductive or osteoconductive factors from porous scaffolds. In this study, dexamethasone was selected as a representative of small molecule drugs and dexamethasone‐loading porous poly(lactide‐ co ‐glycolide) (PLGA) scaffolds were successfully fabricated by supercritical CO 2 foaming. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that scaffolds had rough and relatively interconnected pores facilitating cells adhesion and growth. Specially, dexamethasone which was incorporated into PLGA matrix in a molecularly dispersed state could serve as a nucleation agent to be helpful for the formation of interconnected pores. Dexamethasone‐loading porous PLGA scaffolds exhibited sustained release profile, and the delivery of dexamethasone from porous scaffolds could last for up to 2 months. The cumulative released amount of dexamethasone was relevant with drug loading capacity (1.66%–2.95%) and pore structure of scaffolds; while the release behavior was anomalous (non‐Fickian) transport by fitting with the simple exponential equation, which had a diffusional exponent n higher than 0.5. It is feasible to fabricate drug‐loading porous scaffolds by supercritical CO 2 foaming with specific pore structure and sustained release profile, which can be well applied in bone tissue engineering. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46207.