Controlling Drug Release from Titania Nanotube Arrays Using Polymer Nanocarriers and Biopolymer Coating

Abstract

Titania nanotube arrays (TNT) prepared by self-ordering electrochemical anodization have attracted considerable at- tention for the development of new devices for local drug delivery applications. Two approaches to extend drug re- lease of water insoluble drugs by integrating TNTs with polymeric micelles and biopolymer coatings are presented in this work. The proposed strategies emphasized on remarkable properties of these materials and their unique combina- tion to design local drug delivery system with advanced performance. The first concept integrates TNTs with drug loaded polymeric micelles (Pluronic F127) as drug nanocarrier, until the second concept includes polymer coating of drug loaded TNT with biodegradable polymer (chitosan). The water insoluble, anti-inflammatory drug, indomethacin was used as a model drug. Both approaches showed a significant improvement of the drug release characteristics, with reduced burst release (from 77% to 39%) and extended overall release from 9 days to more than 28 days. These results suggest the capability of TNT based systems to be applied for local drug delivery deliver over an extended period with predictable kinetics that is particularly important for bone implant therapies.