Photomechanical Polymer Nanocomposites for Drug Delivery Devices

Abstract

We demonstrate a novel structure based on smart carbon nanocomposites intended for fabricating laser-triggered drug delivery devices (DDDs). The performance of the devices relies on nanocomposites’ photothermal effects that are based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with carbon nanoparticles (CNPs). Upon evaluating the main features of the nanocomposites through physicochemical and photomechanical characterizations, we identified the main photomechanical features to be considered for selecting a nanocomposite for the DDDs. The capabilities of the PDMS/CNPs prototypes for drug delivery were tested using rhodamine-B (Rh-B) as a marker solution, allowing for visualizing and quantifying the release of the marker contained within the device. Our results showed that the DDDs readily expel the Rh-B from the reservoir upon laser irradiation and the amount of released Rh-B depends on the exposure time. Additionally, we identified two main Rh-B release mechanisms, the first one is based on the device elastic deformation and the second one is based on bubble generation and its expansion into the device. Both mechanisms were further elucidated through numerical simulations and compared with the experimental results. These promising results demonstrate that an inexpensive nanocomposite such as PDMS/CNPs can serve as a foundation for novel DDDs with spatial and temporal release control through laser irradiation.

Understanding the photomechanical effect in organic photoactuators: a comprehensive review of mechanical models and numerical simulations

“…By adjusting the wavelength, intensity, and duration of light exposure, these photoreactive mechanisms allow for precise and reversible manipulation of molecular interactions. This capability has diverse applications, including the development of drug delivery devices [18] and applications in tissue engineering [19,20].…”

“…2 (18) where µ = nk B Θ/2 is the shear modulus dependent on the temperature Θ and the number of chains per unit volume n. Noting that the shear modulus has a physical meaning because it is related to the chain density n.…”

“…Since λ 2 1 + λ 2 2 + λ 2 3 = I 1 , the first invariant of the right Cauchy-Green deformation tensor, Gaussian model is completely similar to (18).…”

Preparation, Characterization and Dielectric Properties of Alginate-Based Composite Films Containing Lithium Silver Oxide Nanoparticles

“…Polymer composites have found applications in a large variety of areas, ranging from the generation of portable electronic devices and high-speed integrated circuits ( Deshmukh et al, 2017 ; Zhang et al, 2002 ) to the development of drug delivery systems ( Lai et al, 2018 ; Lopez-Lugo et al, 2021 ; Rajesh et al, 2021 ). This is partially attributed to good processability and high structural flexibility of polymer composites ( Chen et al, 2015 ; Choudhary and Sengwa, 2017 ; Dang et al, 2012 ; Xu et al, 2017 ).…”

Uniaxial photomechanical motion in large diameter polydimethylsiloxane optical fibers with fluoropolymer claddings

“…Doped PDMS has been the focus of many photomechanical studies [70][71][72][73][74][75][76] due to its large coefficient of thermal expansion. 77 Because of the recent research interest in both PDMS optical fibers and the photomechanical effect in PDMS composites, we investigated the photomechanical motion of doped PDMS in an optical fiber geometry.…”