(252f) 3D Printed Alginate-PLGA Tubes for Controlled Sequential Drug Delivery

Controlled drug delivery systems, that include sequential and/or sustained drug delivery, have been utilized to enhance the therapeutic effects of many current drugs by effectively delivering drugs in a time-dependent and repeatable manner. In this study, with the aid of 3D printing technology, a novel drug delivery device was fabricated and tested to appraise functionality. With an alginate shell and a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) PLGA core, the fabricated tubes displayed sequential release of distinct fluorescent dyes and showed no cytotoxicity when incubated with HEK293 cell line or primary stem cells. This delivery system could be used in tissue engineering to allow for higher levels on ossification in bone regeneration, as the release of different growth factors at different times would yield higher bone growth. The sequential delivery system could also be used in cancer vaccination to deliver antigen/adjuvant combinations to provide an enhanced immunogenic response to tumor cells.