Bioactive Ibuprofen-Loaded PLGA Coatings for Multifunctional Surface Modification of Medical Devices

Oana Gherasim; Gianina Popescu-Pelin; Paula Florian; Madalina Icriverzi; Anca Roseanu; Valentina Mitran; Anisoara Cimpean; Gabriel Socol

doi:10.3390/polym13091413

Bioactive Ibuprofen-Loaded PLGA Coatings for Multifunctional Surface Modification of Medical Devices

Polymers (Basel). 2021 Apr 27;13(9):1413. doi: 10.3390/polym13091413.

Authors

Oana Gherasim^{1

2}, Gianina Popescu-Pelin¹, Paula Florian³, Madalina Icriverzi³, Anca Roseanu³, Valentina Mitran⁴, Anisoara Cimpean⁴, Gabriel Socol¹

Affiliations

¹ Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, RO-077125 Magurele, Ilfov County, Romania.
² Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 1-7 Gheorghe Polizu Street, RO-011061 Bucharest, Romania.
³ Ligand-Receptor Interactions Department, Institute of Biochemistry, Romanian Academy, 296 Splaiul Independentei, RO-060031 Bucharest, Romania.
⁴ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 91-95 Splaiul Independentei, RO-050095 Bucharest, Romania.

Abstract

To modulate the biofunctionality of implantable medical devices commonly used in clinical practice, their surface modification with bioactive polymeric coatings is an attractive and successful emerging strategy. Biodegradable coatings based on poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid), PLGA, represent versatile and safe candidates for surface modification of implantable biomaterials and devices, providing additional tunable ability for topical delivery of desired therapeutic agents. In the present study, Ibuprofen-loaded PLGA coatings (PLGA/IBUP) were obtained by using the dip-coating and drop-casting combined protocol. The composite materials demonstrated long-term drug release under biologically simulated dynamic conditions. Reversible swelling phenomena of polymeric coatings occurred in the first two weeks of testing, accompanied by the gradual matrix degradation and slow release of the therapeutic agent. Irreversible degradation of PLGA coatings occurred after one month, due to copolymer's hydrolysis (evidenced by chemical and structural modifications). After 30 days of dynamic testing, the cumulative release of IBUP was ~250 µg/mL. Excellent cytocompatibility was revealed on human-derived macrophages, fibroblasts and keratinocytes. The results herein evidence the promising potential of PLGA/IBUP coatings to be used for surface modification of medical devices, such as metallic implants and wound dressings.

Keywords: biodegradable coating; fibroblasts; keratinocytes; long-term release; macrophages; metallic implants; topical use.