Nanostructured poly(l-lactide) matrix as novel platform for drug delivery

Abstract

With the aim to establish new strategies for fabricating bioactive nanostructured matrices for controlled drug delivery or potential tissue engineering, a facile and one-pot protocol was developed in this study to produce drug-loaded poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) nanostructures by thermally induced phase separation. Using both steroidal and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, we demonstrated that lipophilic drugs can be efficiently incorporated in either nanosheet-like or nanofibrous PLLA matrices. Thus entrapped drug was randomly distributed in the interconnected nanostructures in the form of nanoscaled crystals. In vitro release study revealed that drug release kinetics may be modulated, on the one hand, by the nanostructure of matrices, while on the other hand by the polymer concentration utilized for fabrication. As for hydrophilic compounds, they could be conveniently loaded into nanofibrous structure by post-fabrication absorption. In addition to the conceptual proof of potential applications of nanostructured PLLA matrices for controlled drug delivery, the strategy employed herein offers a new way to construct bioactive scaffolds, such as antibacterial or anti-inflammatory scaffolds, which may find broad applications for tissue regeneration and stem cells-based biotherapy.