In the development of particulate drug delivery systems, biodegradable polymers with strong biocompatibilities, such as poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), polylactic acid (PLA), and polycaprolactone (PCL), have been frequently employed.
For particular drug delivery applications like sustained release, targeted drug delivery, and protecting APIs from premature degradation, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), whether small molecules or biologic compounds, can be encapsulated into microspheres and nanoparticles or attached to a particle’s surface.
After administering drug-loaded biodegradable nanoparticles and microparticles, the biocompatible polymer undergoes in vivo degradation through hydrolysis of the ester backbone, forming non-toxic products. Choosing the appropriate polymer type and modifying the encapsulation procedure will control the drug release rate.
Poly(Ɛ-caprolactone) is used to make PCL particles, which have a molecular weight of 14,000 mg/ml when suspended in dimethyl ether. Before each use, sonicate or vortex the particles.
Materials
Source: Merck