Characterization of a poly-epsilon-caprolactone polymeric drug delivery device built by selective laser sintering

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), an established Rapid Prototyping (RP) process, is investigated for building controlled drug delivery devices (DDD). The drug and its matrix in a powder form were first mixed mechanically before being sintered on the SLS. Each cylindrical DDD is designed with a number of concentric rings separated from each other by a characteristic 'wall' created by the laser of the SLS. These rings act as diffusion obstacles to control the rate of release. Poly-epsilon-caprolactone (PCL) was used as the matrix and Methylene Blue (MB) as the drug model. Samples were built, characterized and tested for homogeneity using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry (FTIR). Experimental results show that the matrices fabricated are not affected by sintering and the polymer and drug model are evenly distributed throughout the matrix. The initial burst effect has been reduced by the increase of the numbers of rings. The linear curve using the Higuchi equation confirmed that the DDD matrix release profile is by diffusion. These results show that the DDD matrix design has promising potential for application in controlled release drug delivery.