The growing interest in the bioresorbable polymers contributed to developing a number of commercially available controlled drug delivery systems. Due to a variety of drugs and their physicochemical properties, there is a necessity of choosing an appropriate drug carrier. Terpolymer with shape memory properties was used to obtain double layer matrices composed of drug free matrix and paclitaxel containing layer. The in vitro degradation and drug release study were conducted at 37 °C in PBS (pH 7.4). The investigated materials were characterized by GPC (gel permeation chromatography) and DSC (differential scanning calorimetry). HPLC (high-pressure liquid chromatography) was applied to analyze the amount of released paclitaxel. The main purpose of this work was to determine the usefulness of the studied terpolymer as an anti-restenotic drug vehicle. Based on the obtained results it was established that polymer's degradation proceeded regularly and provided even paclitaxel release profiles. Double layer systems allowed to modify the amount of released drug which may be considered while developing the self-expanding drug-eluting stents tailoring different clinical indications.
Keywords: Bioresorbable terpolymer; Controlled drug delivery systems; Hydrolytic degradation; Paclitaxel; Shape-memory polymer.
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