3D superhydrophobic electrospun meshes as reinforcement materials for sustained local drug delivery against colorectal cancer cells.

In this work we expand upon a recently reported local drug delivery device, where air is used as a degradable component of our material to control drug release (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 2016-2019). We consider its potential use as a drug loaded strip to provide both mechanical stability to the anastomosis, and as a means to release drug locally over prolonged periods for prevention of locoregional recurrence in colorectal cancer. Specifically, we electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with the hydrophobic polymer dopant poly(glycerol monostearate-co-ε-caprolactone) (PGC-C18) and used the resultant mesh to control the release of two anticancer drugs (CPT-11 and SN-38). The increase in mesh hydrophobicity with PGC-C18 addition slows drug release both by the traditional means of drug diffusion, as well as by increasing the stability of the entrapped air layer to delay drug release. We demonstrate that superhydrophobic meshes have mechanical properties appropriate for surgical buttressing of the anastomosis, permit non-invasive assessment of mesh location and documentation of drug release via ultrasound, and release chemotherapy over a prolonged period of time (>90 days) resulting in significant tumor cytotoxicity against a human colorectal cell line (HT-29).