| abstract |
The present disclosure is in the field of controlled release delivery of actives (e.g., drug-delivery, cosmeceutics, alternative medicine) though from an unusual and novel delivery vehicle: personal clothing. Means are disclosed for producing controlled-release systems well-suited not only for affixation to fabrics—e.g., clothing, bedding—but also for maintenance of active throughout washing cycles including hot-wash laundry cycles. Some embodiments comprise a material comprising a unique combination of the thermoresponsive polymer poly-N-isopropylacrylamide, crosslinked and water-swollen in the form of a hydrogel, with embedded thin platelet-shaped solid crystals, drug-solubilizing microparticles, and a drug or other active that is released at ambient or body temperature, but only slowly in warm or hot water. Also disclosed are particles comprising solid dispersions of active compounds dispersed in nested or layered arrangements of at least two distinct polymers, in a fiber- or rod-shaped configurations, satisfying certain mathematical criteria. |