The effects of laser energy density and particle size in the selective laser sintering of polycaprolactone/progesterone specimens: morphology and drug release

Abstract

The goals of this work were to fabricate specimens of different powder particle sizes and laser energy density of polycaprolactone and progesterone by selective laser sintering and evaluate the morphology by scanning electron microscopy and the mechanism of drug release in vitro. The results showed that the specimens maintained morphological uniformity, coalescence of particles, and interconnected pores distributed in the sintered structure. The drug release mechanism of all specimens studied followed a zero-order kinetics, and drug release rates were dependent on sintering degree and, consequently, on matrix erosion.