Poly (Glycerol Sebacate) (PGS) is a newly developed, biodegradable elastic polymer that has tunable mechanical properties, good biocompatibility, and a surface degradation profile making it favorable in many tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. In order to functionalize the PGS material, it is necessary to load drugs and active molecules into the polymer, which can present challenges. The current method for the preparation of drug loaded PGS suffers from certain limitations. For instance, the pre-polymer drug loading method is performed under high temperatures that many drugs, including most antibiotics, cannot tolerate.
In response to these challenges, Doctors Deng and Yang have developed an organic solvent-based drug loading method. Drugs and active molecules diffuse into the PGS polymer while it has expanded in an organic solvent; the drugs and active molecules are then locked into the PGS once the organic solvent has evaporated and the polymer has contracted. In this approach, different types of drugs and active molecules can be loaded into PGS using various different organic solvents. The drug loaded PGS can perform multiple biological activities while retaining its original mechanical and biological properties depending upon the loaded drug or cocktail. Moreover, the method is inexpensive, easier to use, and significantly simplifies the preparation process of loading drugs into PGS polymers.