Effect of particle size, polydispersity and polymer degradation on progesterone release from PLGA microparticles: Experimental and mathematical modeling

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles containing progesterone were prepared by the solvent extraction/evaporation and microfluidic techniques. Microparticles were characterized by their size distribution, encapsulation efficiency, morphology and thermal properties. The effect of partic...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Busatto, Carlos Alberto; Pesoa, Juan Ignacio; Helbling, Ignacio Marcelo; Luna, Julio Alberto; Estenoz, Diana Alejandra
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2017
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/34433
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/34433
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:DRUG DELIVERY
MATHEMATICAL MODELING
MICROPARTICLES
POLY(LACTIC-CO-GLYCOLIC ACID)
PROGESTERONE
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.4
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Description
Summary:Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles containing progesterone were prepared by the solvent extraction/evaporation and microfluidic techniques. Microparticles were characterized by their size distribution, encapsulation efficiency, morphology and thermal properties. The effect of particle size, polydispersity and polymer degradation on the in vitro release of the hormone was studied. A triphasic release profile was observed for larger microparticles, while smaller microspheres showed a biphasic release profile. This behavior is related to the fact that complete drug release was achieved in a few days for smaller microparticles, during which polymer degradation effects are still negligible. A mathematical model was developed that predicts the progesterone release profiles from different-sized PLGA microspheres. The model takes into account both the dissolution and diffusion of the drug in the polymeric matrix as well as the autocatalytic effect of polymer degradation. The model was adjusted and validated with novel experimental data. Simulation results are in very good agreement with experimental results.