Issue 1, 2020

Multi-component supramolecular fibers with elastomeric properties and controlled drug release

Abstract

Supramolecular materials based on hydrogen bonding ureido-pyrimidinones (UPy) are highly versatile substrates for tissue engineering, as they provide a platform in which specific functions can be introduced in a modular fashion by means of components with matching supramolecular motifs. In this work, a core–shell fiber mesh is generated by coaxial electrospinning of a robust elastomeric UPy-poly(hexamethylene carbonate) (UPy-PC) core with a hydrophilic shell of poly(ethylene glycol) (UPy-PEG), which is exploited to confer drug release properties to the load-bearing core. The effect of PEG chain length and supramolecular crosslink density on mechanical properties and drug elution profiles is investigated. Hydrated UPy-PC/UPy-PEG meshes containing 30 mol% of UPy-PEG have a Young's modulus matching that of UPy-PC meshes of approximately 0.5 MPa, and elongation at break of 600%. Drug release experiments with low molecular weight drugs encapsulated in the UPy-PEG shell during electrospinning reveal a combined role of drug and matrix hydrophilicity on the elution profile. Our results indicate that a hydrophobic drug is retained in the UPy-PEG shell for several days with a maximum drug release of 56 ± 8% after 14 days, a highly water soluble drug undergoes burst release within one day, and the UPy-modification of a highly water soluble compound increases its retention in the UPy-PEG shell up to multiple weeks. Taken together, our results indicate that the proposed multi-component system is a drug delivery vehicle of excellent versatility for applications requiring strong and durable materials.

Graphical abstract: Multi-component supramolecular fibers with elastomeric properties and controlled drug release

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 aug 2019
Accepted
20 okt 2019
First published
25 okt 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Biomater. Sci., 2020,8, 163-173

Multi-component supramolecular fibers with elastomeric properties and controlled drug release

M. Putti, T. Mes, J. Huang, A. W. Bosman and P. Y. W. Dankers, Biomater. Sci., 2020, 8, 163 DOI: 10.1039/C9BM01241A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements