Surface Eroding, Semicrystalline Polyanhydrides via Thiol-Ene "Click" Photopolymerization.

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Biomaterials Science
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Polyanhydrides are a versatile class of biodegradable polymers.
• Surface erosion is a preferred mechanism for controlled drug release.
• Thiol-ene click polymerization offers efficient synthesis of complex polymer architectures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize semicrystalline polyanhydrides using thiol-ene click polymerization.
• To investigate their degradation behavior and drug release kinetics.
• To evaluate their cytocompatibility for potential biomedical applications.

Main Methods:

• Thiol-ene click polymerization for polyanhydride synthesis.
• Photoinitiation for rapid curing of linear and cross-linked networks.
• Degradation studies under pseudophysiological conditions.
• Drug release studies using lidocaine as a model drug.
• Cytotoxicity assays using human dermal fibroblast adult (HDFa) cells.

Main Results:

• Synthesized semicrystalline polyanhydrides with tunable properties and up to 60% crystallinity.
• Achieved rapid curing (minutes) via photoinitiation.
• Demonstrated surface erosion with complete degradation within ~10 days.
• Observed drug release profiles correlated with erosion kinetics, showing muted burst release.
• Exhibited excellent cytocompatibility with >90% HDFa cell viability at high concentrations.

Conclusions:

• Thiol-ene click polymerization provides an efficient route to semicrystalline polyanhydrides.
• These materials exhibit desirable surface erosion and tunable drug release profiles.
• The polyanhydrides and their degradation products show good cytocompatibility, supporting their use in drug delivery.