Summary
Delivering a drug on demand, rather than at a fixed rate, would let a device match dosing to a patient's needs — but this requires a material whose release can be switched electronically. This master's thesis in Biomedical Engineering investigates conductive membranes of cellulose acetate as a platform for the electronically controlled release of a drug. Cellulose acetate, an inexpensive and biocompatible polymer, is combined with a conductive component so that an applied electrical signal can modulate how the loaded drug is released from the membrane. The work covers the preparation and characterisation of these conductive cellulose-acetate membranes and evaluates how electrical stimulation influences drug liberation. The results explore the feasibility of using such membranes as stimulus-responsive components in active drug-delivery systems.