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Synthesis and characterization of biocompatible polyurethanes for controlled release of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs

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Abstract

Design of biocompatible and biodegradable polymer systems for sustained and controlled release of bioactive agents is critical for numerous biomedical applications. Here, we designed, synthesized, and characterized four polyurethane carrier systems for controlled release of model drugs. These polyurethanes are biocompatible and biodegradable because they consist of biocompatible poly(ethylene glycol) or poly(caprolactone diol) as soft segment, linear aliphatic hexamethylene diisocyanate or symmetrical aliphatic cyclic dicyclohexylmethane-4,4′-diisocyanate as hard segment, and biodegradable urethane linkage. They were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscope, and differential scanning calorimetry, whereas their degradation behaviors were investigated in both phosphate buffered saline and enzymatic solutions. By tuning polyurethane segments, different release profiles of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs were obtained in the absence and presence of enzymes. Such difference in release profiles was attributed to a complex interplay among structure, hydrophobicity, and degradability of polyurethanes, the size and hydrophobicity of drugs, and drug-polymer interactions. Different drug-polyurethane combinations modulated the distribution and location of the drugs in polymer matrix, thus inducing different drug release mechanisms. Our results highlight an important role of segmental structure of the polyurethane as an engineering tool to control drug release.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, 44325, USA

    Juichen Yang, Hong Chen & Jie Zheng

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA

    Yuan Yuan & Debanjan Sarkar

  3. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA

    Debanjan Sarkar

Authors
  1. Juichen Yang
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  2. Hong Chen
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  3. Yuan Yuan
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  4. Debanjan Sarkar
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  5. Jie Zheng
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Correspondence to Debanjan Sarkar or Jie Zheng.

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These authors contributed equally to this work

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Yang, J., Chen, H., Yuan, Y. et al. Synthesis and characterization of biocompatible polyurethanes for controlled release of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 8, 498–510 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-014-1451-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-014-1451-9

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