Development of Polyethylene Glycol-Sebacic Acid Diacrylate Microgels as a Drug Delivery System

Abstract

In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG) based microgels were fabricated and evaluated their potential as a drug carrier. Polyethylene glycol sebacic acid diacrylate (PEGSDA) microgels were synthesized using emulsion polymerization and Texas red dextran (TRD) or bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) was incorporated into the PEGSDA microgels. The drugs were homogeneously distributed throughout the PEGSDA microgels. TRD and BMP-2 release profiles from the microgels showed much less initial burst release compared to the PEGSDA bulk gels, thus it is possible to achieve sustained release of drugs of interest using the microgels. The bioactivities of BMP-2 released from the microgels were measured by proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of W-20-17 (bone marrow stromal cell line) cells cultured in the presence of the released biomolecules. As a results, there were any detrimental effects on proliferation of the cells, and ALP activity of bone marrow stromal cells treated with BMP-2 released from PEGSDA microgels showed well maintained bioactivity of BMP-2. In addition, the bone marrow stromal cells were cultured on the surface of the microgels and the cells were well attached to the microgels, which shows another possible use of the microgels as a cell delivery system.