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Multimaterial Shape Memory Polymer Fibers for Advanced Drug Release Applications
Xue Wan1,2, Siyao Chen2, Jingqi Ma3
1Institute of Materials, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Advanced Fiber Materials
|September 12, 2025
Summary
New shape memory polymer fibers (SMPFs) fabricated using thermal drawing offer precise, long-term drug delivery and smart functionalities for medical devices. This breakthrough enables advanced implantable systems and smart sutures with enhanced control and integration capabilities.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Engineering
- Polymer Science
- Drug Delivery Systems
Background:
- Stimuli-responsive polymers are crucial for controlled drug release in implantable systems.
- Existing shape memory polymer fibers (SMPFs) have limitations in resolution, architecture, scalability, and functionality.
- There is a need for advanced SMPFs enabling precise spatio-temporal drug delivery and integrated functionalities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce thermal drawing as a platform for fabricating advanced, microstructured, multimaterial SMPFs.
- To demonstrate highly controlled, sequential drug release over extended periods (up to 6 months).
- To showcase novel functionalities including accelerated drug release, light-triggered shape recovery, and smart suture applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of microstructured, multimaterial SMPFs using thermal drawing.
- Integration of photothermal coatings for enhanced drug release and shape recovery.
- Characterization of fiber properties, drug release kinetics, and shape memory behavior.
- Demonstration of self-tightening capabilities for smart suture applications.
Main Results:
- Fabricated SMPFs are tens of meters long with high resolution (10 μm) and extreme aspect ratios (>10⁵).
- Achieved highly controlled, sequential drug release over tailored periods up to 6 months.
- Demonstrated accelerated, spatially precise drug release (within 4 months) and light-triggered shape recovery.
- Showcased fast self-tightening capability (within 40 s) for smart suture applications.
- Integrated optical and metallic elements for advanced functionalities.
Conclusions:
- Thermal drawing is a versatile platform for creating advanced SMPFs with unprecedented control over drug delivery.
- These novel SMPFs offer significant advancements for implantable drug delivery systems, smart sutures, and other adaptive medical devices.
- The developed technology opens new avenues for precise spatio-temporal control in biomedical applications.
