Construction and performance of photo-thermal dual-responsive drug release patches with sandwich-structure based on electrospun

Designing and preparing smart drug release systems suitable for application are important in medicine. In the present work, sandwich-structured drug patches with photo-thermal dual-responsive properties were designed and fabricated based on electrospinning technology and post-assembly. The target sandwich-structured patch comprised of a UV-responsive electrospun membrane and a skin-contacting electrospun gel membrane. The porous structure of the electrospun membrane and electrospun gel endowed the patch's excellent moisture retention and gas permeability which could ensure the breathe of the skin and prevent from hurting of permeating water at the same time. Moreover, the viscosity properties of the skin contacting layer caused the patches' good adhesion properties, resulting in improved the long term adheres to the skin. Then drugs and temperature-sensitive substances were clamped in the interlayers of the sandwich-structured patch which was sealed by polyvinylpyrrolidone-silica (PVP-SiO2) electrospinning solution. Thus, the sandwich-structured patches not only exhibited photo-thermal responsive properties but also presented heightened drug carrying capacity and versatile applicability across various drugs.