Magnetic hydrogel nanocomposites for remote controlled pulsatile drug release

Hydrogel nanocomposites are novel macromolecular biomaterials that promise to impact various applications in medical and pharmaceutical fields. In this paper, magnetic nanocomposites of temperature responsive hydrogels were used to illustrate remote controlled (RC) drug delivery. A high frequency alternating magnetic field (AMF) was used to trigger the on-demand pulsatile drug release from the nanocomposites. Nanocomposites were synthesized by incorporation of superparamagnetic Fe3O4 particles in negative temperature sensitive poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels. Pulses of AMF were applied to the nanocomposites and the kinetics of collapse and recovery were characterized. Application of AMF resulted in uniform heating within the nanocomposites leading to accelerated collapse and squeezing out large amounts of imbibed drug (release at a faster rate). Remote controlled pulsatile drug release was characterized for different drugs as well as for different ON–OFF durations of the AMF.