Amorphous solid dispersions in poly(ε-caprolactone)/xanthohumol bioactive blends: physicochemical and mechanical...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Xanthohumol (XH) is a bioactive compound with therapeutic potential.
• Developing stable amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) is crucial for enhancing drug bioavailability.
• Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a biodegradable polymer often used in biomedical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the formation and properties of amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) of xanthohumol (XH) in polycaprolactone (PCL).
• To assess the miscibility and specific interactions between PCL and XH.
• To evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of PCL/XH blends for potential biomedical applications.

Main Methods:

• Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for miscibility and thermal analysis.
• X-ray Diffraction (XRD) to assess crystallinity.
• Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to identify specific interactions.
• Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) for morphological analysis.
• Tensile testing to evaluate mechanical properties.

Main Results:

• Successful formation of PCL/XH amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) with up to 50 wt% XH.
• DSC and XRD confirmed miscibility and amorphous state.
• FTIR revealed strong specific interactions (C[double bond, length as m-dash]OO-H) between PCL and XH.
• AFM showed composition-dependent crystalline morphology.
• High toughness retention was observed for amorphous PCL/XH blends.

Conclusions:

• Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a suitable matrix for creating amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) of xanthohumol (XH).
• The specific interactions between PCL and XH facilitate the dispersion of XH in an amorphous form.
• These amorphous bioactive materials hold promise for developing non-stiff biomedical devices.