A highly tunable biocompatible and multifunctional biodegradable elastomer
Loading...
Date
2012-12-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Abstract
Biodegradable elastomers have emerged as promising materials for their potential to mimic the viscoelastic properties of several tissues and exhibit compliance with dynamic environments without damaging the surrounding tissue.[1, 2] Several elastomers have been recently proposed;[3–8] however, the development of highly tunable biodegradable elastomers that can effectively and controllably present biological and physical signals and withstand repeated cycles of physiologic loads, has remained elusive. Such materials should be useful for a broad range of clinically-relevant applications, such as cardiac therapy. For example, following myocardial infarction, the local controlled delivery of bioactive cues[9] or the physical support of the left ventricle wall[10] have been shown to improve cardiac function. The synergistic therapeutic effect of biochemical and biophysical cues has not yet been explored using degradable materials given the absence of materials that can simultaneously deliver bioactive cues and maintain mechanical integrity in a dynamic environment such as the beating heart. Here, we describe a novel biocompatible and mechanically tunable elastomer, poly(glycerol sebacate urethane) (PGSU), suitable for efficient encapsulation and controlled delivery of bioactive macromolecules and with the potential to be applied to cardiac drug delivery.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Pereira, M. J. N., Ouyang, B., Sundback, C. A., Lang, N., Friehs, I., Mureli, S., ... & Karp, J. M. (2012). A highly tunable biocompatible and multifunctional biodegradable elastomer. Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), 25(8), 1209.