Issue 23, 2016

Inkjet printing based assembly of thermoresponsive core–shell polymer microcapsules for controlled drug release

Abstract

A controlled drug delivery system (DDS) was designed by integrating the thermoresponsive copolymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) (poly(NIPAAm-co-MAA)) with core–shell 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) microparticles. The monodisperse HDDA particles with a hollow core and a nanoporous shell were fabricated in a continuous manner by an initially proposed inkjet printing process combined with UV polymerization. The thermoresponsive poly(NIPAAm-co-MAA) copolymer was grafted onto the surface of HDDA microcapsules by free radical initiated polymerization. Particularly, the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the copolymer was adjusted to human physiological temperature by the optimal comonomer ratio of MAA. With temperature changes at around the LCST, the copolymer, which was modified on the internal nanopore, served as a “retractable gate” by virtue of its changes in conformation between swollen and collapsed structures. Thus, controlled drug release was achieved by the reversible “open–close” transition characteristics of the nanopores. Fluorescein as a hypothetical drug molecule was loaded in the microcapsules and used to investigate the controlled release of the material. The results confirmed that this system represents a promising candidate for use in preparing controlled DDSs.

Graphical abstract: Inkjet printing based assembly of thermoresponsive core–shell polymer microcapsules for controlled drug release

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Feb 2016
Accepted
03 May 2016
First published
04 May 2016

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2016,4, 4156-4163

Author version available

Inkjet printing based assembly of thermoresponsive core–shell polymer microcapsules for controlled drug release

J. Yang, D. Katagiri, S. Mao, H. Zeng, H. Nakajima, S. Kato and K. Uchiyama, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2016, 4, 4156 DOI: 10.1039/C6TB00424E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements