Synthesis and characterization of star‐shaped PLLA with sorbitol as core and its microspheres application in controlled drug release. Issue 27 (4th April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Teng, Lijing; Nie, Wangyan; Zhou, Yifeng; Song, Linyong; Chen, Pengpeng
• Is Part Of: Journal of applied polymer science. Volume 132:Issue 27(2015)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2015-04-04
• Subjects: Polymers -- Periodicals; Polymerization -- Periodicals; 668.9
• DOI: 10.1002/app.42213
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-8995

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>ABSTRACT</title> <p>The purpose of this study was to investigate the suitability of a six‐arm star‐shaped poly(<sc>l</sc>‐lactide)s (s‐PLLA) as controlled drug carriers for hydrophobic drug molecules. First, s‐PLLA was synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization of <sc>l</sc>‐lactide using sorbitol as initiator and stannous octoate as catalyst. The structure and molecular weight (<italic>M_w</italic>) of s‐PLLA was characterized with ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and GPC. Second, rifampicin (RIF) used as a model drug was encapsulated within the microspheres of s‐PLLA via oil‐in‐water emulsion/solvent evaporation technique. The morphology, drug encapsulation efficiency (EE), and <italic>in vitro</italic> release behavior of the prepared microspheres were studied in details. Results indicated that the average diameters of s‐PLLA microspheres can be controlled between 8 and 20 µm by varying the copolymer's concentration or <italic>M_w</italic><bold>.</bold> The EE of RIF was mainly determined by the concentration of s‐PLLA. The <italic>in vitro</italic> study showed that the burst release behavior can be depressed by increasing the <italic>M_w</italic> of the s‐PLLA. Present work suggests that the synthesized s‐PLLA could be used as a new material for drug delivery. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. <bold>2015</bold>, <italic>132</italic>, 42213.</p> </abstract>