Abstract
In this study, gemcitabine-loaded methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(L-lactide) (MPEG-PLLA) microparticles with different PEG block lengths were prepared by a W/O/W double emulsion technique. The present study focuses on the investigation of the influence of various preparative parameters such as the ratio of internal water phase and oil phase, polymer concentration, solvent composition of organic phase and salt concentration of external water phase on the morphology and encapsulation efficiency of the microparticles. The microparticles fabricated at high volume ratios of internal water phase to oil phase and at high polymer concentrations showed a relatively high encapsulation efficiency and low porosity. When a dichloromethane/ethyl acetate mixture was used as solvent, both the encapsulation efficiency and drug loading of the microparticles decreased as the level of ethyl acetate increased. The addition of a salt (NaCl) to the external water phase significantly improved the encapsulation efficiency up to 40%, and the microparticles became more spherical with their size and porosity decreased.
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