Feasibility of macrophage mediated on-demand drug release from surface eroding poly(ethylene carbonate)

Abstract Macrophage induced surface degradation of poly(ethylene carbonate) (PEC) was investigated under in vitro conditions. Degradation of PEC with the MW of 41 kDa (PEC41) was slower than that of PEC with the MW of 200 kDa (PEC200). In terms of macrophage mediated drug release from PEC matrix, in cell-free medium, less than 1% of levofloxacin was released from both PEC samples in 10 days, while more than 60 and 20% of the drug, levofloxacin, can be detected in medium with macrophages from PEC200 and PEC41 films, respectively. This work indicated that on-demand drug delivery induced by macrophages can be achieved with PEC polymer.