Drug-releasing biopolymeric structures manufactured via stereolithography

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, such as stereolithography (SLA), enable the preparation of designed complex structures. AM has gained interest especially in the tissue engineering field due to the possibility to manufacture patient specific implants. However, AM could be useful also in controlled drug release applications, since the size and shape of the device, pore architecture and surface to volume ratio can be accurately designed. In this study, SLA was used to prepare polycaprolactone scaffold structures containing the model drug lidocaine. The release of lidocaine was studied and the influence of porosity and surface to volume ratio of structures to the drug release was analyzed. Porous samples released lidocaine faster compared to solid ones, whereas the degree of porosity and surface to volume ratio did not have a clear effect on the drug release profile.