Electrically Triggered Release of a Small Molecule Drug from a Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coating

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Electrically triggered drug delivery offers remote control over therapeutic release from implantable devices.
• Current methods often lack precise control over dosage and release kinetics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize nanoscale thin films for electrically controlled drug delivery.
• To demonstrate precise control over drug dosage and release profiles.
• To validate the in vitro efficacy of the released antibiotic.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of nanoscale thin films using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly with Prussian Blue (PB) nanoparticles and gentamicin.
• Application of anodic electric potential to induce film dissolution and drug release.
• Characterization of film thickness, drug loading, and release kinetics under varying electrical stimuli.
• In vitro testing against Staphylococcus aureus.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated thin films (100-500 nm) with drug loadings of 1-4 microg/cm(2).
• Demonstrated precise control over drug dosage by tuning film thickness and applied voltage magnitude.
• Achieved variable release kinetics, including burst and pulsatile release, by altering electric potential profiles.
• Confirmed in vitro efficacy of released gentamicin against Staphylococcus aureus.

Conclusions:

• Electrically controlled drug release from LbL-assembled films is feasible and offers precise dosage and kinetic control.
• This technology has potential applications in implantable medical devices and transdermal drug delivery systems.
• The versatility of LbL assembly allows for conformal coating of diverse substrates.