Understanding Silicones in Controlled Release Applications
As one of the most widely researched biomaterials to date, silicone has an approximate 50-year legacy of use in the healthcare industry. This history of biocompatibility has made silicone a material of choice for both long and short-term implantable device applications. These technologies evolved as the result of pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers seeking novel ways to achieve their therapies. So, raw materials that were formerly chosen for their performance capabilities in medical device applications are now tasked with maintaining those requirements but also with meeting a host of new performance expectations that are specific to drug delivery applications. Faced with these new challenges few raw materials have succeeded in transitioning quite as well as silicone. This is because silicones possess certain dynamic characteristics which allow them to be compounded in with a host of actives. These same unique characteristics also allow them to release those actives from a molded/extruded device in a predictable way – whether that application is for transdermal, transmucosal, short or long-term human implantation. This article will highlight key attributes of certain silicones as well as key considerations when selecting a silicone.