Bulk Manufacture of Complex Geometry Millirod Implants and Their Degradation and Drug Delivery Characteristics by

This thesis investigated the impact of manufacturing process modifications for the bulk manufacture of curcumin implants for diabetic neuropathy pain relief. A homogeneous mixture of poly(caprolactone) (PCL) and curcumin was blended using cryomilling as an alternative to the solvent mixing method. Cryomilling was selected due to its faster processing time and reduced cost of materials in comparison to the solvent method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize the resulting mixture to determine the efficacy of cryomilling as an option for blending curcumin and PCL powders. In addition to cryomilling, compression molding was selected as the manufacturing method to allow for the creation of implant molds featuring threaded geometry on the millirod surface. Implants were subsequently evaluated in vitro for 30 days. Curcumin loaded millirod implants with complex threaded surface geometry were found to have a higher, but not significant, percent mass loss after degradation and average daily curcumin release than the cylindrical implants. It can be concluded that the utilization of cryomilling for the creation of curcumin loaded implants in bulk is an easier to manipulate and more cost effective method of combining PCL and curcumin without sacrificing implant effectiveness.