Asymmetric biodegradable microdevices for cell-borne drug delivery

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Cellular Drug Delivery
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Live cells offer unique advantages as carriers for particulate drug delivery systems.
• Developing stable and non-toxic cell-particulate complexes is crucial for effective drug delivery.
• Existing methods may face challenges in achieving sustained release and avoiding cell aggregation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel microdevices for cell-borne drug delivery.
• To create a system for sustained intravascular drug delivery using cell-microdevice complexes.
• To evaluate the stability and biocompatibility of these cell-microdevice complexes.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of disklike microdevices using soft lithography.
• Composition of microdevices from biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid).
• Covalent grafting of cell-adhesive poly-l-lysine onto microdevices for cell binding.
• Assessment of cell viability, proliferation, and drug release kinetics.

Main Results:

• Microdevices successfully bound to live cells via bulk mixing without aggregation.
• Cell-microdevice complexes demonstrated significant stability over a week.
• Cell viability and proliferation remained unaffected by the microdevices.
• Sustained release of a mock drug from the microdevices was confirmed.

Conclusions:

• The developed microdevices are a promising platform for cell-borne drug delivery.
• These microdevices offer a stable and biocompatible method for sustained intravascular drug delivery.
• The technology holds potential for future clinical applications in targeted drug therapies.