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Pulsatile Protein Release from Monodisperse Liquid-Core Microcapsules of Controllable Shell Thickness

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Abstract

Purpose

Pulsatile delivery of proteins, in which release occurs over a short time after a period of little or no release, is desirable for many applications. This paper investigates the effect of biodegradable polymer shell thickness on pulsatile protein release from biodegradable polymer microcapsules.

Methods

Using precision particle fabrication (PPF) technology, monodisperse microcapsules were fabricated encapsulating bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a liquid core surrounded by a drug-free poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) shell of uniform, controlled thickness from 14 to 19 μm.

Results

When using high molecular weight PLG (Mw 88 kDa), microparticles exhibited the desired core-shell structure with high BSA loading and encapsulation efficiency (55–65%). These particles exhibited very slow release of BSA for several weeks followed by rapid release of 80–90% of the encapsulated BSA within 7 days. Importantly, with increasing shell thickness the starting time of the pulsatile release could be controlled from 25 to 35 days.

Conclusions

Biodegradable polymer microcapsules with precisely controlled shell thickness provide pulsatile release with enhanced control of release profiles.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institute of Health Grant EB005181 and GM085222. Scanning Electron Microscopy took place in Material Research Lab at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Confocal microscopy measurements took place in Beckman Institute, imaging technology group at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. DSC was performed in Microanalysis Laboratory, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA

    Yujie Xia

  2. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, 159 F. Paul Anderson Tower, Lexington, Kentucky, 40506-0046, USA

    Daniel W. Pack

  3. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kentucky, 467 Biological Pharmaceutical Bldg., 789 S. Limestone, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536-0596, USA

    Daniel W. Pack

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  1. Yujie Xia
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Correspondence to Daniel W. Pack.

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Xia, Y., Pack, D.W. Pulsatile Protein Release from Monodisperse Liquid-Core Microcapsules of Controllable Shell Thickness. Pharm Res 31, 3201–3210 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-014-1412-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-014-1412-5

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