Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Dec 12;10(12):1379.
doi: 10.3390/polym10121379.

Implantable Polymeric Drug Delivery Devices: Classification, Manufacture, Materials, and Clinical Applications

Sarah A Stewart  1 , Juan Domínguez-Robles  2 , Ryan F Donnelly  3 , Eneko Larrañeta  4
Affiliations
Review

Implantable Polymeric Drug Delivery Devices: Classification, Manufacture, Materials, and Clinical Applications

Sarah A Stewart et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

The oral route is a popular and convenient means of drug delivery. However, despite its advantages, it also has challenges. Many drugs are not suitable for oral delivery due to: first pass metabolism; less than ideal properties; and side-effects of treatment. Additionally, oral delivery relies heavily on patient compliance. Implantable drug delivery devices are an alternative system that can achieve effective delivery with lower drug concentrations, and as a result, minimise side-effects whilst increasing patient compliance. This article gives an overview of classification of these drug delivery devices; the mechanism of drug release; the materials used for manufacture; the various methods of manufacture; and examples of clinical applications of implantable drug delivery devices.

Keywords: design; drug delivery; implants; manufacture.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An illustration of reservoir and monolithic type implants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
An illustration of an osmotic implantable drug delivery systems.
Figure 3
Figure 3
An illustration of the chemical structures of: poly(lactic acid) (PLA); poly(glycolic acid) (PGA); poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA); and poly(caprolactone) (PCL).
Figure 4
Figure 4
An illustration of the mechanisms of degradation of poly(lactic acid) (PLA); poly(glycolic acid) (PGA); and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA).
Figure 5
Figure 5
An illustration of the chemical structure of poly(siloxane).
Figure 6
Figure 6
An illustration of the chemical structure of poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate) (PEVA).
Figure 7
Figure 7
An illustration of the chemical structure of poly(urethane) (PU).
Figure 8
Figure 8
An illustration of the chemical structure of cellulose [80].
Figure 9
Figure 9
An illustration of the chemical structures of Chitin and Chitosan [90].
Figure 10
Figure 10
An illustration of (a) a three chain silk sequence composed of carbon (gray), nitrogen (blue), oxygen (red) and hydrogen (white); (b) 3-dimensional β-sheet of silk. Reproduced with permission from [100].
Figure 11
Figure 11
Images showing: (A) prototype PCL film implants [9]; (B) Gliadel Wafers®, reproduced with permission from [114] (C) Nexplanon® applicator device and (D) insertion of Nexplanon® using its applicator device, reproduced with permission from [115].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ravi Kumar M.N.V., Kumar N. Polymeric Controlled Drug-Delivery Systems: Perspective Issues and Opportunities. Drug Dev. Ind. Pharm. 2001;27:1–30. doi: 10.1081/DDC-100000124. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Larrañeta E., Lutton R.E.M., Woolfson A.D., Donnelly R.F. Microneedle arrays as transdermal and intradermal drug delivery systems: Materials science, manufacture and commercial development. Mater. Sci. Eng. R Rep. 2016;104:1–32. doi: 10.1016/j.mser.2016.03.001. - DOI
    1. Langer R. New methods of drug delivery. Science. 1990;249:1527–1533. doi: 10.1126/science.2218494. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wei X.W., Gong C.Y., Gou M.L., Fu S.Z., Guo Q.F., Shi S., Luo F., Guo G., Qiu L.Y., Qian Z.Y. Biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers as drug delivery system. Int. J. Pharm. 2009;381:1–18. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2009.07.033. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rajgor N., Bhaskar V., Patel M. Implantable drug delivery systems: An overview. Syst. Rev. Pharm. 2011;2:91–95. doi: 10.4103/0975-8453.86297. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources