Smart plastic films programmed to release a precise sequence of treatments are poised to revolutionize drug delivery, thanks to a breakthrough in polymer chemistry at MIT.

The films could be used to coat implants such as artificial hips and tissue scaffolds to deliver phased release over a period of hours or weeks.

The method calls for depositing very thin polymer films on objects of any shape. The scientists have tuned the polymers to degrade at different rates by changing the composition of the barriers that separate the layers; they have also cross-linked the polymer chains to form a mesh that can delay water penetration and the release of any drugs.

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