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  • Autor
    • Muralter, Fabian
    • Coclite, Anna Maria
    • Werzer, Oliver
  • TitelWrinkling of an Enteric Coating Induced by Vapor-Deposited Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel Thin Films
  • Datei
  • DOI10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b07340
  • Persistent Identifier
  • Band123
  • Heft39
  • Seiten24165-24171
  • LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
  • ZugriffsrechteCC-BY
  • Download Statistik1624
  • Peer ReviewJa
  • AbstractIn this contribution, we report on the thin-film synthesis of a thermoresponsive polymer onto another polymer used as an enteric coating in drug applications. In particular, we deposit cross-linked poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (pNVCL) thin films by initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) onto spin-coated Eudragit (EUD) layers. Already upon iCVD synthesis, the layered structure starts to form wrinkles at a minimum iCVD thickness of 30 nm. By changing the EUD layer thickness and the amount of cross-linking used during iCVD, the morphology of the wrinkles is demonstrated to be readily tunable. Laterally, the double-layer structures vary in morphology from being ultrasmooth to exhibiting up to a 3.5 μm wrinkle wavelength. The surface roughness and, thus, the wrinkles' height can be tailored from below 1 nm up to 100 nm. From the resulting wavelength of wrinkles, an estimation of the elastic modulus of pNVCL proves its tunability over a wide range of values thanks to the iCVD process. This study elucidates an uncomplicated way to tune the wrinkles' morphology and, thus, the surface area of a system that can be employed in drug delivery applications. Hence, an enteric coating of EUD together with an iCVD-synthesized thermoresponsive thin film is proposed as a promising composite encapsulation layer to outperform established systems in terms of tunability of the response to multiple external stimuli.