2022 Annual Meeting
Testing PEO-B-PCL for Drug Delivery Applications
The polymer PEO-b-PCL is an amphiphilic diblock copolymer that is biodegradable and FDA approved. Hydrophobic polycaprolactone (PCL) is attached to hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEO). This causes the polymer PEO-b-PCL to have unique characteristics that are applicable to drug delivery. The dyes methylene blue, methyl red and methyl orange were used to simulate drugs in the polymer samples. Samples were made using a solution casting method with PEO(5,000 g/mol)-b-PCL(16,300 g/mol) and dye powder that was dissolved using chloroform and allowed to dry to create a film. The films were placed in aqueous solution and allowed to release dye over time. The release was monitored using UV-Vis Spectroscopy. Certain dyes demonstrated a faster initial release rate than others indicating there would be different release rates in using this polymer with different drugs.