Pulsatile discharge from polymeric scaffolds: A novel method for modulated drug release

Controlled drug release holds promise to revolutionize medicine, particularly if short-term and long-term release can be combined in a single system. We present here a new pulsa-tile release system, in which the pulses were achieved using 3D scaffolds of poly(L-lactic acid), PLLA. From a morphological characterization of the scaffold’s surfaces, before and after releasing experiments at distinct pHs, we infer that release is governed by electrostatic interactions and the fractal geometry of the scaffolds. Furthermore, the scaffold can present short-term (within hours) or long-term (several days long) releasing profiles by varying the pH, which opens the way for unprecedented drug release control. © 2019 The Chemical Society of Japan.