Lyotropic liquid crystal elastomers for drug delivery

• Published in: Colloids and surfaces, B, Biointerfaces Vol. 226; p. 113304
• Main Authors: Stepulane, Annija, Ahlgren, Kajsa, Rodriguez-Palomo, Adrian, Rajasekharan, Anand Kumar, Andersson, Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.06.2023
• Subjects: Drug-Delivery; Elastomers; Liquid Crystal Elastomers; Lyotropic Liquid Crystals; Polydimethylsiloxane; Polymer Blending; Triblock copolymer; Triblock copolymers; Polymer blending; Lyotropic liquid crystals; Triblock copolymer; Elastomers; Drug-delivery; Polydimethylsiloxane; Liquid crystal elastomers
• ISSN: 0927-7765; 1873-4367; 1873-4367
• DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2023.113304

Silicone elastomers like polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) possess a combination of attractive material and biological properties motivating their widespread use in biomedical applications. Development of elastomers with capacity to deliver active therapeutic substances in the form of drugs is of particular interest to produce medical devices with added functionality. In this work, silicone-based lyotropic liquid crystal elastomers with drug-eluting functionality were developed using PDMS and triblock copolymer (diacrylated Pluronic F127, DA-F127). Various ternary PDMS–DA-F127–H2O compositions were explored and evaluated. Three compositions were found to have specific properties of interest and were further investigated for their nanostructure, mechanical properties, water retention capacity, and morphology. The ability of the elastomers to encapsulate and release polar and nonpolar substances was demonstrated using vancomycin and ibuprofen as model drugs. It was shown that the materials could deliver both types of drugs with a sustained release profile for up to 6 and 5 days for vancomycin and ibuprofen, respectively. This works demonstrates a lyotropic liquid crystal, silicone-based elastomer with tailorable mechanical properties, water retention capacity and ability to host and release polar and nonpolar active substances. [Display omitted] •Lyotropic liquid crystal elastomers produced from PDMS and diacrylate Pluronic F127.•Different ternary blend compositions of PDMS, DA-F127 and water explored.•Tailorable nanostructure, mechanical properties, water retention, and morphology.•Sustained delivery of polar and nonpolar drugs using vancomycin and ibuprofen.