Fig. 2.

Effect of implant surface area on drug release kinetics. A) Implant dimensions, weight, and specific surface area for three different shapes (cuboid, cube, and sphere). The specific surface area was quantified using PSI weight and dimensions (mm²/mg, n = 4); B) In vitro release kinetics of DTG from PSIs with different shapes incubated at 37 °C for 140 days. All implants (~30 g, n = 4) contained ~10 wt% DTG. Graph inset represents the release kinetics of DTG during the initial 2 weeks; C) Images of the DTG PSIs before and after completion the release studies. An increase in the specific surface area was observed for all implant shapes; D) SEM images representing cross-section images of the DTG PSIs with various shapes post-incubation in PBS at 37 °C for 8, 12, and 16 weeks. The white * symbols represent DTG in the DTG PSIs.