The advent of therapeutic functionalized implant coatings has significantly impacted the medical device field by enabling prolonged device functionality for enhanced patient treatment. Incorporation of drug release from a stable, biocompatible surface is instrumental in decreasing systemic application of toxic
therapeutics and increasing the lifespan of implants by the incorporation of
antibiotics and
anti-inflammatories. In this study, we have developed a
parylene C-based device for controlled release of
Doxorubicin, an anti-
cancer chemotherapy and definitive read-out for preserved
drug functionality, and further characterized the
parylene deposition condition-dependent tunability of drug release. Drug release is controlled by the deposition of a layer of 20-200 nm thick
parylene over the
drug layer. This places a porous layer above the
Doxorubicin, limiting
drug elution based on
drug accessibility to
solvent and the
solvent used. An increase in the thickness of the porous top layer prolongs the elution of active
drug from the device from, in the conditions tested, the order of 10 min to the order of 2 d in water and from the order of 10 min to no elution in PBS. Thus, the controlled release of an anti-
cancer therapeutic has been achieved via scalably fabricated,
parylene C-encapsulated
drug delivery devices.