Determination of mechanical properties of polymeric microspheres used in controlled drug delivery systems by nanoindentation

ABSTRACT

In this study, we synthesized poly (vinyl acetate-co-divinyl benzene) microspheres with various monomer/cross-linker contents for oral/topical sustained drug release applications and determined the micromechanical properties by nanoindentation. Compression elastic moduli of materials were calculated by using the limited depth of indentation according to Hertz elastic deformation model and presented as the histogram of multiple data. In terms of drug release practices, poly (VAc-co-DVB) microspheres with a high DVB content, especially in topical applications, are expected to carry drugs under mechanical stresses of less than 1.0 GPa.

Graphical Abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Controlled drug release
• drug delivery systems
• polymeric microsphere
• nanoindentation
• nanomechanical properties

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the N/A

Notes on contributors

Mustafa Oguzhan Caglayan

Mustafa Oguzhan Caglayan is the Department Head of Nanotechnolgy Engineering in Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey. He currently works on biosensors, biomedical applications and material science for biomedical and biotechnological applications.