Matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation of poly(D,L-lactide) thin films for controlled-release drug systems

We report the successful deposition of the porous polymer poly(D,L-lactide) by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) using a KrF* excimer laser (248 nm, t = 7 ns) operated at 2 Hz repetition rate. The chemical structure of the starting materials was preserved in the resulting thin films. Fluence played a key role in optimizing our depositions of the polymer.We demonstrated MAPLE was able to improve current approaches to grow high quality thin films of poly(D,L-lactide), including a porosity control highly required in targeted drug delivery