In this study, the thermosensitive polymer poly(di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (PDEGMA) was synthesized and electrospun into fibers by blending with ethyl cellulose (EC). Fibers were additionally prepared loaded with ketoprofen (KET) as a model drug. Smooth cylindrical fibers could generally be observed by electron microscopy, although there were some beads and fused fibers visible in the KET-loaded materials. KET was found to be amorphously distributed in the fibers on the basis of X-ray diffraction data. From water contact angle measurements, it was clear that the wettability of the EC/PDEGMA systems changed as the temperature increased, with the fibers becoming markedly more hydrophobic. In vitro drug release studies showed that KET was released over a prolonged period of time with the fibers having different profiles at 25 and 37°C, reflecting their thermosensitive properties. Furthermore, the materials were found to have good biocompatibility towards L929 fibroblasts. Thus, the fibers prepared in this work have potential as smart stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems.
Keywords: Drug delivery system; Electrospinning; Ethyl cellulose; Poly(di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate); Thermosensitive.
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