Preparation and Sustained-Release Performance of PLGA Microcapsule Carrier System.

Shuaikai Ren,Chunxin Wang,Xiang Zhao,Yan Wang,Liang Guo,Haixin Cui,Congcong Xu,Changjiao Sun

doi:10.3390/nano11071758

Abstract

Microcapsules have been widely studied owing to their biocompatibility and potential for application in various areas, particularly drug delivery. However, the size of microcapsules is difficult to control, and the size distribution is very broad via various encapsulation techniques. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain microcapsules with uniform and tailored size for the construction of controlled-release drug carriers. In this study, emulsification and solvent evaporation methods were used to prepare a variety of ovalbumin-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microcapsules to determine the optimal preparation conditions. The particle size of the PLGA microcapsules prepared using the optimum conditions was approximately 200 nm, which showed good dispersibility with an ovalbumin encapsulation rate of more than 60%. In addition, porous microcapsules with different pore sizes were prepared by adding a varying amount of porogen bovine serum albumin (BSA) to the internal water phase. The release curve showed that the rate of protein release from the microcapsules could be controlled by adjusting the pore size. These findings demonstrated that we could tailor the morphology and structure of microcapsules by regulating the preparation conditions, thus controlling the encapsulation efficiency and the release performance of the microcapsule carrier system. We envision that this controlled-release novel microcapsule carrier system shows great potential for biomedical applications.

Highlights

Encapsulation technology refers to the process of encapsulating a substance in a suitable capsule material to form nano, micro, or millimeter-sized particles [1]
To study the effect of the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) concentration on the morphology of microcapsules, the following PLGA microcapsule preparation conditions were investigated: concentration of ovalbumin in the internal aqueous phase, 20 mg/mL; concentration of PLGA
The results showed that the PLGA concentration influenced the prepared microcapsules’ particle size and uniformity (Figure 1); 20 mg/mL PLGA produced prepared PLGA microcapsules with a diameter of 245 nm and a thickness of the microcapsule wall of 25 nm, and all showed good uniformity

Summary

Introduction

Encapsulation technology refers to the process of encapsulating a substance in a suitable capsule material to form nano-, micro-, or millimeter-sized particles [1]. Encapsulating an active material has the following advantages: The capsule material (1) keeps the active material from contacting the external environment and prevents its degradation and the loss of its activity [2]; (2) extends the half-life of the active material [3]; (3) allows sustained release [4]; and (4) reduces the evaporation and degradation of volatile substances [5] Owing to these desirable properties, microcapsules have been widely used in pollutant adsorption, food quality preservation, stem cell culture and biomedicine [6,7,8,9].

Methods

Results

Conclusion