| Summary: | Controlled release drug delivery systems enable the sustained release of bioactive molecules, and increase bioavailability over an extended length of time. Biocompatible and biodegradable materials such as polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers and alginate hydrogel play a significant role in designing controlled release systems. Prolonged release of bioactive molecules is observed when these polymer materials are used as matrices independently. However, there has not been a report in the literature that shows how different molecules are released at various rates over time. The goal of this study is to demonstrate a novel drug delivery system that has a property of releasing designated drugs at various rates over a defined length of time. We fabricated multilayer nanofiber-hydrogel meshes using electrospun PCL nanofiber and alginate hydrogel, and evaluated their controlled release properties. The multilayer meshes are composed of sandwiched layers of alternating PCL nanofibers and alginate hydrogel. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), encapsulated in the designated hydrogel layers, is used as a mock drug for the release study. The exposed top layer of the meshes demonstrates a dramatically higher burst release and shorter release time compared to the deeper layers. Such properties of the different layers within the meshes can be employed to achieve the release of multiple drugs at different rates over a specified length of time.
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