Sustained Drug Release from a Microcontainer Fabricated Using a Polydimethylsiloxane Stencil

In this study, sustained and pH-responsive delivery of drugs were conducted using sealed microcontainers (MCs). The MCs were fabricated using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stencil. The polymer solution was filled into holes of the stencil space; then, the organic solvent was evaporated to obtain MCs. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was used as the material for the MCs. The MCs were sealed by covering them with a lid layer after filling the model drug—metronidazole—into the MCs. The diameter and height of the fabricated MCs were 500 and 350 µm, respectively. The drug delivery of sealed MCs was analyzed using the absorbance of the released drug while varying the pH and observing the FE-SEM image, before and after drug release. MCs are expected to be useful in various biomedical applications of drug delivery and microfluidic systems by supporting various functional materials in pH-responsive MCs.