6 research outputs found
Surface Eroding, Semicrystalline Polyanhydrides via Thiol–Ene “Click” Photopolymerization
Surface eroding and semicrystalline
polyanhydrides, with tunable
erosion times and drug delivery pharmacokinetics largely dictated
by erosion, are produced easily with thiol–ene “click”
polymerization. This strategy yields both linear and cross-linked
network polyanhydrides that are readily and fully cured within minutes
using photoinitiation, can contain up to 60% crystallinity, and have
tensile moduli up to 25 MPa for the compositions studied. Since they
readily undergo hydrolysis and exhibit the oft-preferred surface erosion
mechanism, they may be particularly useful in drug delivery applications.
The polyanhydrides were degraded under pseudophysiological conditions
and cylindrical samples (10 mm diameter × 5 mm height) were completely
degraded within ∼10 days, with the mass-time profile being
linear for much of this time after a ∼24 h induction period.
Drug release studies, using lidocaine as a model, showed pharmacokinetics
that displayed a muted burst release in the early stages of erosion,
but then a delayed release profile that is closely correlated to the
erosion kinetics. Furthermore, cytotoxicity studies of the linear
and cross-linked semicrystalline polyanhydrides, and degradation products,
against fibroblast cells indicate that the materials have good cytocompatibility.
Overall, cells treated with up to 2500 mg/L of the semicrystalline
polyanhydrides and degradation products show >90% human dermal
fibroblast
adult (HDFa) cell viability indicative of good cytocompatibility
Photopolymerized Cross-Linked Thiol–Ene Polyanhydrides: Erosion, Release, and Toxicity Studies
Several
critical aspects of cross-linked polyanhydrides made using
thiol–ene polymerization are reported, in particular the erosion,
release, and solution properties, along with their cytotoxicity toward
fibroblast cells. The monomers used to synthesize these polyanhydrides
were 4-pentenoic anhydride and pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate).
Techniques used to evaluate the erosion mechanism indicate a complex
situation in which several phenomena, such as hydrolysis rates, local
pH, water diffusion, and solubility, may be influencing the erosion
process. The mass loss profile, the release rate of a hydrophilic
dye, the rate of hydrolysis of the polyanhydride, the hydrolysis product
solubility as a function of pH, average p<i>K</i><sub>a</sub> and its cytotoxicity toward fibroblast cells were all determined.
The solubility of the degradation product is low at pH values less
than 6–7, and the average p<i>K</i><sub>a</sub> was
determined to be ∼5.3. The cytotoxicity of the polymer and
the degradation product was found to be low, with cell viabilities
of >97% for the various samples studied at concentrations of ∼1000–1500
ppm. These important parameters help determine the potential of the
thiol–ene polyanhydrides in various biomedical applications.
These polyanhydrides can be used as a delivery vehicle, and although
the release profile qualitatively followed the mass loss profile for
a hydrophilic dye, the release rate appears to be by both diffusion
and mass loss mechanisms