RT Journal Article
T1 Controlled co-delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs from bilayer polymer films coating a meniscus implant
A1 Fernández Blanco, Alfonso
A1 Lou, Gustavo
A1 Pensado-López, Alba
A1 Ummarino, Aldo
A1 Torres Andón, Fernando
A1 Crecente Campo, José
A1 Alonso Fernández, María José
K1 Knee osteoarthritis
K1 Meniscus implant
K1 Controlled drug release
K1 Polymer
K1 Anti-inflammatory drug
K1 Inflammation
AB Knee osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disease, is increasingly prevalent worldwide and often results from a meniscal deterioration that leads to meniscus removal. Replacing the damaged meniscus with a non-biodegradable prosthesis offers an innovative solution to prevent OA progression, particularly in older patients. However, the long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs for pain relief and prosthesis integration can cause severe off-target side effects. The objective of this work was to design and develop drug-loaded bilayer polymer films to be used as coatings for a meniscus polycarbonate urethane (PCU). The developed bilayer polymer films enabled a sustained release of two anti-inflammatory drugs - dexamethasone (DEX) and celecoxib (CLX) - with distinct release kinetics (1–4 weeks for DEX and 6–9 months for CLX). This release profile was defined to modulate post-surgical and chronic inflammation within the knee joint, respectively. Two bilayer prototypes showed consistent biodegradation, drug release, drug loading, and reproducibility. Furthermore, the systems were sterile, biocompatible, and maintained the anti-inflammatory efficacy of the released drugs, effectively reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion from human primary macrophages.
PB Springer
SN 2190-393X
YR 2025
FD 2025-08-25
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44347
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44347
LA eng
NO Blanco, A. F., Lou, G., Pensado-López, A., Ummarino, A., Andón, F. T., Crecente-Campo, J., & Alonso, M. J. (2025). Controlled co-delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs from bilayer polymer films coating a meniscus implant. "Drug Delivery and Translational Research", 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/S13346-025-01942-5
NO Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 814444 (MEFISTO).  This work has also received financial support from the Xunta de Galicia (Centro Singular de Investigación de Galicia accreditation ED431G/2023/02) and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund - ERDF), and from the Competitive Reference Groups program, Consellería de Educación e Ordenación Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia (Ref: ED431C 2021/17).
DS Minerva
RD 23 abr 2026