Biodegradable elastic nanofibrous platforms with integrated flexible heaters for on-demand drug delivery

Authors

Ali Tamayol, Harvard Medical SchoolFollow
Alireza Hassani Najafabadi, Harvard Medical School
Pooria Mostafalu, Harvard Medical School
Ali K. Yetisen, Massachusetts General Hospital
Mattia Commotto, Harvard Medical School
Musab Aldhahri, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Shaaban Abdel-wahab, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Zeynab Izadi Najafabadi, Washtenaw Community College
Shahrzad Latifi, University of California, Los Angeles
Mohsen Akbari, Harvard Medical School
Nasim Annabi, Harvard Medical School
Seok Hyun Yun, Massachusetts General Hospital
Adnan Memic, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Mehmet R. Dokmeci, Harvard Medical School
Ali Khademhosseini, Harvard Medical SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2017

Citation

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | 7: 9220

Comments

© The Author(s) 2017

Open access

DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-04749-8

Abstract

Delivery of drugs with controlled temporal profiles is essential for wound treatment and regenerative medicine applications. For example, bacterial infection is a key challenge in the treatment of chronic and deep wounds. Current treatment strategies are based on systemic administration of high doses of antibiotics, which result in side effects and drug resistance. On-demand delivery of drugs with controlled temporal profile is highly desirable. Here, we have developed thermally controllable, antibiotic-releasing nanofibrous sheets. Poly(glycerol sebacate)- poly(caprolactone) (PGS-PCL) blends were electrospun to form elastic polymeric sheets with fiber diameters ranging from 350 to 1100 nm and substrates with a tensile modulus of approximately 4-8 MPa. A bioresorbable metallic heater was patterned directly on the nanofibrous substrate for applying thermal stimulation to release antibiotics on-demand. In vitro studies confirmed the platform’s biocompatibility and biodegradability. The released antibiotics were potent against tested bacterial strains. These results may pave the path toward developing electronically controllable wound dressings that can deliver drugs with desired temporal patterns.