Difference between revisions of "Team:Tec-Chihuahua/wildcell"

PLGA Microencapsulation

The polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) is a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer that is used for the fabrication of drug delivery devices. PLGA could be used for transports proteins, peptides and macromolecules such as DNA and RNA.

PLGA is ideal for drug delivery because its degradation can be used as a way to control the drug release by manipulating the factors involved in it. Some relevant parameters that influence the release are the polymer molecular weight, the ratio of the particle and the drug concentration.

The release behavior of PLGA is given by its degradation which occurs by hydrolysis. The degradation profile is through bulk degradation as a consequence of the water penetration into the particle and the polymer degradation. However, the degradation by water penetrations is way faster than the PLGA degradation.

The process can be divided into two phases:

 1. The initial burst where there is a quantity of drug released at time zero related to the drug type, drug concentration, and polymer hydrophobicity.
 2. The progressive drug liberation through the weakened PLGA layer. The water hydrolyzes the polymer and creates a channel for where the drug can be released by diffusion and erosion until the complete polymer degradation. (Makadia & Siegel, 2011)