A controlled biochemical release device with embedded nanofluidic channels

A controlled release device is developed by embedding nanofluidic biomolecule reservoirs into a polymer network of a stimuli-responsive hydrogel. The reservoirs are made of liquid core-polymer shell nanofibers using co-electrospinning. The mechanism of controlled release is based on buckling instability of the polymer shell under combined axial and radial compression, caused by volume changes of hydrogel responding to a specific stimulus. The device decouples releasable biomolecules from a hydrogel polymer matrix, avoiding chemical interactions between biomolecules and hydrogel polymer chains, and thus, alleviating nontrivial chemical and biological engineering design of hydrogel formulations. Temperature-sensitive hydrogel is used as a model hydrogel. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4704143]