Abstract
An efficient process for the preparation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) microspheres with a narrow size distribution was developed. PHB was produced by a fed-batch culture of Ralstonia eutropha using fructose syrup as the sole carbon source. After autoclaving the bacteria, PHB granules, which accumulated in the cells, were isolated by a detergent/hypochlorite treatment and then spray-dried to obtain the microspheres. The diameters of the PHB microspheres ranged from 0.6 to 1.1 μm and the weight-average molecular weights were approximately 50 000 with polydispersity indexes of 5.0. The microspheres had a porous internal structure with an average porosity value of 72% and efficiently blocked UV light shorter than 220 nm. When isosorbide dinitrate was used as a model drug, the optimal drug loading concentration of the microspheres for controllable retardation was 3% (w/w). Almost 80% of the loaded drug (3%, w/w) was released within 12 h with typical sustained drug release behaviors.
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Kim, G., Bang, K., Kim, Y. et al. Preparation and characterization of native poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) microspheres from Ralstonia eutropha. Biotechnology Letters 22, 1487–1492 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005637827426
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005637827426