Abstract We demonstrate that Nature-inspired lotus-like non-wetting phenomena can also be used in the field of controlled drug delivery. Hydrophobically modified, and cellulose microparticle roughened polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) biopolymer based thin films were synthetised and converted into superhydrophobic (Θ=165.3°; γ s tot = 1.7±0.67 mJ/m2) thin films. The surface wetting of the thin films was adjustable from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic nature and this affected the drug release properties as well. We also prove that this surface wetting driven drug delivery system (DDS) is suitable for the encapsulation and prolonged/ adjusted release of Mitomycin (MMC), a drug with antifibrotic properties. The in vitro release experiments conducted under physiological conditions (PBS, pH = 7.4) revealed that –due to the lower crystallinity– the release of MMC was faster (k’=6.1×10-6 mM/s) from the hydrophilic film compared to the pure, crystalline (k’=1.21×10-6 mM/s) MMC. Neverteless, significantly lower MMC dissolution rate (k’=5×10-8 mM/s) was obtained for the superhydrophobic sample featuring a non-wetting, lotus-like nature. Based on this in vitro study, we suggest that the presented surface wetting driven DDS loaded with MMC could be useful for example in the area of head and neck surgeries to prevent scar tissue formation.

中文翻译：

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从改性生物聚合物薄膜中表面润湿驱动释放抗纤维化丝裂霉素-C药物

摘要 我们证明了受自然启发的类似莲花的非润湿现象也可用于受控药物递送领域。疏水改性和纤维素微粒粗化聚乙烯醇 (PVA) 生物聚合物薄膜被合成并转化为超疏水 (θ=165.3°; γ s tot = 1.7±0.67 mJ/m2) 薄膜。薄膜的表面润湿性可从超亲水性调节到超疏水性，这也影响了药物释放特性。我们还证明，这种表面润湿驱动的药物递送系统 (DDS) 适用于具有抗纤维化特性的药物丝裂霉素 (MMC) 的封装和延长/调节释放。在生理条件下进行的体外释放实验（PBS，pH = 7。4) 揭示——由于较低的结晶度——与纯结晶 (k'=1.21×10-6 mM/s) 相比，MMC 从亲水膜中的释放速度更快 (k'=6.1×10-6 mM/s) /s) MMC。然而，对于具有非润湿性、莲花状性质的超疏水样品，获得了显着较低的 MMC 溶解速率（k'=5×10-8 mM/s）。基于这项体外研究，我们建议所提出的表面润湿驱动的 DDS 加载 MMC 可能有用，例如在头颈部手术领域，以防止疤痕组织形成。