The formulation and delivery of biopharmaceutical drugs poses substantial challenges owing to their broad range of sizes and potential susceptibility to degradation. The development of new capsule platforms which possess tunable degradation, facile encapsulation, and scalability are necessary. Herein, we describe the synthesis of a library of acyclic acetals and their incorporation into a highly-controlled droplet based microfluidic platform via thiol-ene photopolymerization. Specifically, substituted benzaldehydes serve as the molecular basis for tuning the degradation of the acetal-based networks. Degradation rates could be tuned from weeks to years depending solely on the substituent without any differences in network design. To mimic encapsulated drugs, hydrophilic quantum dots were encapsulated and imaged via confocal laser microscopy over a multi-week release study. Additionally, the pH sensitivity of the hydrolytically erodible membranes was also demonstrated via optical microscopy over time.

Substituent determined release from polymer microcapsules fabricated via thiol-ene photopolymerization

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.