PEO-PPO-PEO surfactant exfoliated graphene cyclodextrin drug carriers for photoresponsive release

Liquid exfoliated graphene sheets were incorporated within a-cyclodextrin-triblock copolymer supra molecular hydrogels prepared with a range of polyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide block sizes and ratios allowing control over the release properties. The strong photothermal activity of graphene was employed to externally activate drug release from within the gels using near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. These supramolecular hybrid hydrogels showed thermoreversible changes in viscosity, which is necessary for an injectable, multiple release point drug delivery depot. This hybrid graphene-surfactant-alpha-CD gel system with thermoreversible properties is demonstrated herein to be externally NIR activated to induce controllable drug release. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.