Abstract
Biodegradable, poly (lactic acid) (PLA) microspheres have been synthesized via solvent evaporation method using ultrasonic homogenizer as emulsifier. The effect of added surfactant, PVA [poly (vinyl alcohol)], and PLA concentration on the shape and size of the resultant PLA microspheres has been studied. The prime objective of this work was to identify an optimal PVA/PLA concentration to prepare PLA microsphere with a size distribution of 1–2 micrometers as in many literature it has been reported as ideal range of size for non-endocytosis-mediated cellular drug delivery. In this pursuit it was found that an optimal concentration of 2.5% w/v of PVA into water and 2.5% w/v PLA into DCM [Dichloromethane] is suitable to create PLA microspheres with a size distribution of 1–2 micrometers. The PLA microspheres were characterized by FESEM to assess their shape and size. FT-IR analysis (Supplementary data) was used to assess the functional groups present in the PLA microspheres, whilst zeta-potential measurements (Supplementary data) provided insight into the likely dispersion properties of the microspheres in aqueous media.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 48-51 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Materials Letters |
| Volume | 195 |
| Early online date | 21 Feb 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 May 2017 |
Bibliographical note
© 2017, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Keywords
- poly (lactic acid)
- PLA
- microspheres
- probe-based ultrasonication
- FESEM
- FT-IR spectroscopy