Free radical synthesis of succinic anhydride grafted poly(lactic acid) porous templates for sustained drug delivery in the buffer media

Poly(lactic) (PLA) is a biodegradable material obtained from renewable resources and is recognized as a safe biopolymer by the Food and Drug Administration. PLA expresses excellent mechanical and moldability attributes nonetheless poor elasticity/functionality limits its widespread utilization. One approach to compensate for this is chemical surface modification through free radical grafting with small organic molecules like maleic anhydride (MA). The study undertakes the synthesis of succinic anhydride (SA)-grafted PLA [SA-g-PLA] films for sustained drug delivery applications. The entrapped porogen was leached out under alkaline treatment to make the PLA film porous by creating channels/cavities for drug inclusion. The success of the surface treatment of PLA-based films was investigated using specific chemical analyses. The results demonstrated the hydrophilic nature (water contact angle of 31 degrees) of the SA-g-PLA films for the prevalence of MA (1780 cm-1) and methylamine (340-640 cm-1) congeners as expressed under FTIR analysis. The SA-g-PLA film expressed a crystallinity of 72.41 % and a melting temperature of 201.9 degrees C. The SA-g-PLA film exhibited pH-responsive streptomycin sulfate uptake (pH 6.5) and release (pH 7.4) profiles and obeyed first-order kinetics. The SA-g-PLA porous films with potential modification would be a sustainable and biocompatible candidate for drug delivery applications.