Melt electrowriting reinforced composite membrane for controlled drug release

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Drug delivery systems require advanced scaffolds with tunable mechanical properties and controlled release kinetics.
• Melt electrowriting (MEW) and melt electrospinning (MES) are promising techniques for fabricating such scaffolds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a hybrid manufacturing device combining MEW and MES for reinforced nonwoven fabric scaffolds.
• To investigate the mechanical properties and drug release characteristics of the fabricated composite scaffolds.

Main Methods:

• An in-house hybrid device integrating MEW and MES was utilized.
• Polycaprolactone (PCL) lattice was printed using MEW, followed by MES deposition of drug-loaded PCL nonwoven fabric.
• Solvent vapor annealing was employed to modify PCL crystallinity and drug release.

Main Results:

• The MEW/MES composite scaffold exhibited a two-fold increase in strength and a 900% increase in elongation to break compared to controls.
• Solvent vapor annealing modulated drug release by altering PCL crystallinity.
• A unique shish-kebab fiber structure formed during annealing influenced drug release dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The proposed MEW-based hybrid printing method offers enhanced control over scaffold complexity and mechanical reinforcement.
• This approach provides a versatile platform for fabricating advanced scaffolds for drug delivery and other nanotechnologies.