We have recently discovered that thiol-ene chemistry, a step-growth mechanism of polymerization, can be applied to make polyanhydrides that are elastomeric, photocurable and have controllable degradation rates, starting from only several hours. These may fulfil the need for new biocompatible and biodegradable materials for medical use, for example, in drug delivery, therapeutic devices and gene therapy/delivery. We have shown that these polanhydrides undergo surface erosion, maintaining their mechanical integrity during degradation and exhibit a gradual loss in size. In this paper we show that these thiol-ene based polyanhydrides show first-order pharmacokinetics over the majority of their degradation profile. Furthermore, they can be utilized in lithographic applications, opening up many possibilities in terms of making micro- and nano-sized therapeutic delivery devices.

Polyanhydride network polymers by thiol-ene polymerization: Potential macro- and microscopic therapeutic delivery devices

245th National Meeting (2013)

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