Drug Delivery (Jan 2021)

Preparation, characterization, and in vitro/vivo evaluation of dexamethasone/poly(ε-caprolactone)-based electrode coatings for cochlear implants

  • Yanjing Luo,
  • Anning Chen,
  • Muqing Xu,
  • Dongxiu Chen,
  • Jie Tang,
  • Dong Ma,
  • Hongzheng Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/10717544.2021.1960927
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 28, no. 1
pp. 1673 – 1684

Abstract

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With dexamethasone as the model drug and polycaprolactone (PCL) as the carrier material, a drug delivery coating for cochlear electrodes was prepared, to control cochlear fibrosis caused by cochlear implantation. A dexamethasone/poly (ε-caprolactone)-based electrode coating was prepared using the impregnation coating method. Preparation parameters were optimized, yielding 1 impregnation instance, impregnation time of 10 s, and PCL concentration of 10%. The coating was characterized in vitro using scanning electron microscopy, a universal machine, high-performance liquid chromatography, and CCK-8. The surface was porous and uniformly thick (average thickness, 48.67 µm)—with good flexibility, long-term slow drug release, and optimal drug concentration—and was biologically safe. The experimental results show that PCL is an ideal controlled-release material for dexamethasone as a drug carrier coating for cochlear implants.

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