Active scaffolds for on-demand drug and cell delivery

• Main Authors: Zhao, Xuanhe (Author), Kim, Jaeyun (Author), Cezar, Christine A. (Author), Huebsch, Nathaniel David (Contributor), Lee, Kangwon (Author), Bouhadir, Kamal (Author), Mooney, David J. (Author)
• Other Authors: Harvard University- (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Academy of Sciences (U.S.), 2011-07-28T15:52:23Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Porous biomaterials have been widely used as scaffolds in tissue engineering and cell-based therapies. The release of biological agents from conventional porous scaffolds is typically governed by molecular diffusion, material degradation, and cell migration, which do not allow for dynamic external regulation. We present a new active porous scaffold that can be remotely controlled by a magnetic field to deliver various biological agents on demand. The active porous scaffold, in the form of a macroporous ferrogel, gives a large deformation and volume change of over 70% under a moderate magnetic field. The deformation and volume variation allows a new mechanism to trigger and enhance the release of various drugs including mitoxantrone, plasmid DNA, and a chemokine from the scaffold. The porous scaffold can also act as a depot of various cells, whose release can be controlled by external magnetic fields.
Harvard University. Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (U.S.) (Research Grant R01 DE019917)
Harvard University. BASF Advanced Research Initiative
United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (W911NF-10-0113)
Pratt School of Engineering (Duke University)