Preparation and characterization of biodegradable poly(l-lactide)/poly(ethylene glycol) microcapsules containing erythromycin by emulsion solvent evaporation technique

In this work, the producing of a biodegradable poly(l-lactide) (PLA)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) microcapsule by emulsion solvent evaporation method was investigated. The effect of PEG segments added to the PLA microcapsules on the degradation, size distribution, and release behavior was studied. According to the results, PLA/PEG copolymer was more hydrophilic than PLA homopolymer, and with lower glass transition temperature. The surface of PLA/PEG microcapsules was not as smooth as that of PLA microcapsules, the mean diameters of prepared PLA and PLA/PEG microcapsules were 40 and 57 microm, respectively. And spherical forms were observed by the image analyzer and the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Drug release from microcapsules was affected by the properties of PLA/PEG copolymers determined by UV-vis spectra. It was found that the drug release rates of the microcapsules were significantly increased with adding of PEG, which explained by increasing hydrophilic groups.     

Synthesis and Properties Research on the Nanocapsulated Capsaicin by Simple Coacervation Method

A new nanoencapsulation was established in which small nanocapsules with a natural polymeric wall could be fabricated, capsulizing the capsaicin having pungent odor. The new nanoencapsulation is based on a simple coacervation process. In this technique, gelatin was used as the wall material of the nanocapsules, and an insoluble polymer film was formed after cross‐linking reaction. The shell formation mechanism and the effects of the process conditions such as shearing force, the gelatin viscosity, cross‐linking time, and so on, on the particle size of the nanocapsulated capsaicin (NC) agents were discussed. Meanwhile, the morphology and size distribution of the nanocapsules prepared by the most suitable conditions, were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, laser particle size analyzer, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The NC agents had a mean particle size of about 100 nm. Moreover, the thermal properties of the NC agents were measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It was demonstrated that the melting point and thermal pyrolysis temperature of the NC agents were improved from 75 to 100°C, 230 to 240°C, 310 to 320°C, and from 450 to 540°C compared with that of the uncovered capsaicin, which were caused by the encapsulation of the cross‐linked gelatin over the surface of the capsaicin.     

Preparation and properties of chitosan chondroitin sulfate complex microcapsules

The chitosan (CHS) chondroitin sulfate (CS) complex microcapsules were prepared by emulsion-chemical crosslink method, with the chitosan and chondroitin sulfate as the wall materials and the low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) as the core materials. The microcapsules were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (IR) spectrometry, scanning electron microscope (SEM), size distribution and thermal analysis. The in vitro drug release behavior of the microcapsules was studied by spectrophotometry. The SEM and size distribution showed that the microcapsules were in the spherical form mostly in the size range of 20-80 microm. The IR spectrum indicated that there were electrostatic interactions between chitosan and chondroitin sulfate, with the sulfate group and free carboxyl group reacted with the amino groups of chitosan. The DSC result showed that the wall materials could protect the core materials of the microcapsules. The results of the release kinetics experiments of the microcapsules showed that the drug released slightly faster in acid media than in alkali ones.     

Preparation of insulin-loaded PLA/PLGA microcapsules by a novel membrane emulsification method and its release in vitro

Uniform-sized biodegradable PLA/PLGA microcapsules loading recombinant human insulin (rhI) were successfully prepared by combining a Shirasu Porous Glass (SPG) membrane emulsification technique and a double emulsion-evaporation method. An aqueous phase containing rhI was used as the inner water phase (w1), and PLA/PLGA and Arlacel 83 were dissolved in a mixture solvent of dichloromethane (DCM) and toluene, which was used as the oil phase (o). These two solutions were emulsified by a homogenizer to form a w1/o primary emulsion. The primary emulsion was permeated through the uniform pores of a SPG membrane into an outer water phase by the pressure of nitrogen gas to form the uniform w1/o/w2 droplets. The solid polymer microcapsules were obtained by simply evaporating solvent from droplets. Various factors of the preparation process influencing the drug encapsulation efficiency and the drug cumulative release were investigated systemically. The results indicated that the drug encapsulation efficiency and the cumulative release were affected by the PLA/PLGA ratio, NaCl concentration in outer water phase, the inner water phase volume, rhI-loading amount, pH-value in outer water phase and the size of microcapsules. By optimizing the preparation process, the drug encapsulation efficiency was high up to 91.82%. The unique advantage of preparing drug-loaded microcapsules by membrane emulsification technique is that the size of microcapsules can be controlled accurately, and thus the drug cumulative release profile can be adjusted just by changing the size of microcapsules. Moreover, much higher encapsulation efficiency can be obtained when compared with the conventional mechanical stirring method.     

Effects of protective colloids on the preparation of poly(l-lactide)/poly(butylene succinate) microcapsules

Poly(l-lactide)/poly(butylene succinate) microcapsules containing an aqueous solution of sodium(+)-tartrate dihydrate were prepared by the interfacial precipitation method through solvent evaporation from (w/o)/w emulsion. The effects of poly(vinyl alcohol) used as a protective colloid in the microencapsulation were investigated regarding thermal properties, particle size distributions, surface morphologies, and release behaviors of the biodegradable microcapsules. It was concluded that encapsulation efficiency, surface morphologies, thermal properties, and releasing speed were closely related to the particle size distributions of microcapsules under different conditions of the protective colloid.     

PLA/MSM缓释微球的制备及生物活性

采用膜乳化-液中干燥法制备出担载二甲基砜(MSM)的聚乳酸(PLA)微球(PLA/MSM), 并研究了膜孔径、 搅拌转速和MSM浓度对载药微球形貌、 尺寸、 载药量、 体外释放及细胞活性的影响; 采用场发射环境扫描电子显微镜(ESEM)观察微球形貌、 尺寸及分布, 用等离子体发射光谱(ICP-AES)法检测PLA/MSM微球载药量、 包封率及体外释放, 采用ESEM观察微球内部结构, 并通过体外细胞培养和噻唑蓝(MTT)法检测MC-3T3-E1细胞的增殖能力. 研究结果表明, 膜乳化法制备的载药微球规整, 呈典型的圆球状, 表面光滑, 内部有多孔结构. 当膜孔径为5.1 μm且搅拌转速为500 r/min时, PLA/MSM微球大小更为均一; 当体系中MSM质量分数为8.6%时, 载药量可达到77.43%. 随着膜孔径减小及药物浓度的增加, 体外释放速率加快, 但初期均无明显的突释现象, 约10 d后累积释放量达到89.2%. 细胞实验结果显示, 在膜孔径为5.1 μm且MSM质量分数为8.6%的条件下, 制备的载药微球在细胞培养7 d时表现出明显的促增殖作用.     

Characterization of ovalbumin-containing polyurethane microcapsules with different structures

Ovalbumin (OVA)-containing polyurethane microcapsules were successfully prepared by a reaction between toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and different polyols such as glycerol, ethane diol, and propylene glycol. The structural and thermal properties of the resultant microcapsules and the release profile of the OVA from the wall membranes were studied. In conclusion, the microcapsules from the glycerol showed the highest thermal stability, with the formation of many hydrogen bonds. From the data of release profiles, it was confirmed that the particle size distribution and morphologies of microcapsules determined the release profiles of the OVA from the wall membranes.     

Influence of process parameters on the size distribution of PLA microcapsules prepared by combining membrane emulsification technique and double emulsion-solvent evaporation method

Relatively uniform-sized biodegradable poly(lactide) (PLA) microcapsules with various sizes were successfully prepared by combining a glass membrane emulsification technique and water-in-oil-in-water (w₁/o/w₂) double emulsion-solvent evaporation method. A water phase was used as the internal water phase, a mixture solvent of dichloromethane (DCM) and toluene dissolving PLA and Arlacel 83 was used as the oil phase (o). These two solutions were emulsified by a homogenizer to form a w₁/o primary emulsion. The primary emulsion was permeated through the uniform pores of a glass membrane into the external water phase by the pressure of nitrogen gas to form the uniform w₁/o/w₂ double emulsion droplets. Then, the solid polymer microcapsules were obtained by simply evaporating solvent. The influence of process parameters on the size distribution of PLA microcapsules was investigated, with an emphasis on the effect of oil-soluble emulsifier. A unique phenomenon was found that a large part of emulsifier could adsorb on the interface of internal water phase and oil phase, which suppressed its adsorption on the surface of glass membrane, and led to the successful preparation of uniform-sized double emulsion. Finally, by optimizing the process parameters, PLA microcapsules with various sizes having coefficient of variation (CV) value under 14.0% were obtained. Recombinant human insulin (rhI), as a model protein, was encapsulated into the microcapsules with difference sizes, and its encapsulation efficiency and cumulative release were investigated. The result suggested that the release behavior could be simply adjusted just by changing precisely the diameters of microcapsule, benefited from the membrane emulsification technique.     

Influence of core materials on thermal properties of melamine-formaldehyde microcapsules

A series of melamine-formaldehyde microcapsules as an intrinsic intumescent system was prepared by an in situ polymerization. The structural and thermal properties of the resultant microcapsules were studied. The surface morphology and chemical structure of microcapsules were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscope (FT-IR), respectively. The thermal properties of samples were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that the thermo-physical properties are strongly dependant on the nature core content and the synthesis conditions. From the thermal analysis, it was concluded that microcapsules containing di-ammonium hydrogen phosphate exhibits characteristics of an intumescent system during their thermal degradation and could be interpreted due to the interaction between phosphate and melamine.     

十八烷/聚(St-MMA)相变微胶囊制备及表征

采用乳液聚合的方法,分别选取聚苯乙烯(PS)、聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)或苯乙烯和甲基丙烯酸甲酯的共聚物为壁材,正十八烷为芯材,十二烷基苯磺酸钠(SDBS)为乳化剂,制作相变储能微胶囊。用粒径分析仪、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、热重分析仪(TG)和示差扫描量热测试仪(DSC)对微胶囊的形貌、相变热性能和热稳定性分别进行表征。结果表明:壁材选取两者共聚物,当两种单体的比例为St∶MMA=1∶5,SDBS用量为1.5g(总质量的3%)时,微胶囊粒径大小均匀,粒子分散性好,壁材的包裹性好。微胶囊的放热峰为起始温度为27.3℃,终止温度为31.9℃,相变温度为28.9℃,相变焓为48.4J/g。TG表明长期使用温度不能超过131℃。IR分析微胶囊中含有芯材和壁材。这种十八烷/聚(St-MMA)相变微胶囊可以用于诸能材料。     

Release behaviors of porous poly(butylene succinate)/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) microcapsules containing indomethacin

The biodegradable poly(butylene succinate)/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PBS/PCL) microcapsules containing indomethacin were prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation method. The morphologies, thermal properties, and release behaviors of PBS/PCL microcapsules were investigated. As a result, the microcapsules exhibited porous and spherical form in the presence of gelatin as a surfactant. From the DSC result, the PBS/PCL microcapsules showed the two exothermic peaks meaning the melting points of PCL and PBS. The results of FT-IR and DSC proved that the PBS and PCL were mixed so that the PBS/PCL microcapsules were composed of two wall-forming materials. And the release rate of indomethacin from the microcapsules was decreased with increasing the PCL content. It was noted that an addition of PCL on the PBS led to the decrease of pore size in the PBS/PCL microcapsules.     

Synthesis and characterization of microencapsulated dicyclopentadiene with melamine–formaldehyde resins

Microcapsules containing healing agents have been used to develop the self-healing polymeric composites. These microcapsules must possess special properties such as appropriate strength and stability in surrounding medium. A new series of microcapsules containing dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) with melamine–formaldehyde (MF) resin as shell material were synthesized by in situ polymerization technology. These microcapsules may satisfy the requirements for self-healing polymeric composites. The chemical structure of microcapsule was identified by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The morphology of microcapsule was observed by using optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope. Size distribution and mean diameter of microcapsules were determined with OM. The thermal properties of microcapsules were investigated by using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Additionally, the self-healing efficiency was evaluated. The results indicate that the poly(melamine–formaldehyde) (PMF) microcapsules containing DCPD have been synthesized successfully, and their mean diameters fall in the range of 65.2∼202.0 μm when the adjusting agitation rate varies from 150 to 500 rpm. Increasing the surfactant concentration can decrease the diameters of microcapsules. The prepared microcapsules are thermally stable up to 69 °C. The PMF microcapsules containing DCPD can be applied to polymeric composites to fabricate the self-healing composites.     

Fabrication strategy for amphiphilic microcapsules with narrow size distribution by premix membrane emulsification

Amphiphilic co-polymer, which can maintain the stability of proteins and increase the protein loading efficiency, is considered as an exploring-worthy biodegrade polymer for drug delivery. However, amphiphilic microcapsules prepared by conventional methods, such like mechanical stirring and spray-drying methods, exhibit broad size distributions due to its hydrophilic sequences, leading to poor reproducibility. In this study, we employed poly(monomethoxypoly ethylene glycol-co-D,L-lactide) (mPEG-PLA, PELA), one of common amphiphilic polymers, as model to focus on investigating the process parameters and mechanisms to prepare PELA microcapsules with narrow size distribution and regular sphericity by combining premix membrane emulsification and double emulsion technique. The coarse double emulsion with broad size distribution was repeatedly pressed through Shirasu Porous Glass (SPG) membrane with relatively high pressure to form the fine emulsion with narrow size distribution. Then, the microcapsules with narrow size distribution can be obtained by solvent extraction method. It was found that it was more difficult to obtain PELA microcapsules with narrow size distribution and smooth surface due to its amphiphilic property, compared with the cases of PLA and PLGA. The smooth surface morphology was found to be related to several factors including internal water phase with less volume, slower stirring rate during solidification and using ethyl acetate as oil phase. It was also found that mass ratio of hydrophilic mPEG, stabilizer PVA concentration in external water phase and transmembrane pressure played important role on the distribution of microcapsules size. The suitable preparation conditions were determined as follows: for the membrane with pore size of 2.8 μm, the mass ratio of PLA/mPEG was 19:1, volume ratio of W(1)/O was 1:10 and O/W(2) was 1:5, PVA concentration (w/v) was 1.0%, magnetic stirring rate during solidification was 60 rpm and 300 kPa was chosen as transmembrane pressure. There was a linear relationship between the diameter of microcapsules and the pore size of the membranes. Finally, by manipulating the process parameters, PELA microcapsules with narrow size distributions (coefficient of variation was less than 15%), smooth morphology and various sizes, were obtained. Most importantly, the key factors affecting fabrication have been revealed and mechanisms were illustrated in detail, which would shed light on the research of amphiphilic polymer formulation.     

Effect of poly(ethylene oxide) on the release behaviors of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) microcapsules containing erythromycin

The biodegradable poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) microcapsules and the analyzing of form and features for the manufacturing conditions were investigated in a prospective drug delivery systems (DDS) through drug release. The effects of emulsifier, emulsifier concentration, and stirring rate on the diameter and form of the microcapsules were examined using image analyzer (IA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The role of interfacial adhesion between PCL/PEO and drug was determined by contact angle measurements, and the drug release rate of the microcapsules was characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy. As a result, the microcapsules were made in spherical forms with a mean particle size of 170 nm approximately 68 microm. And the work of adhesion between water and PCL/PEO was increased with increasing the PEO content, which is due to higher hydrophilicity of PEO. The drug release rate of the microcapsules was significantly increased as the PEO content increased, which could be attributed to the increasing of the hydrophilic groups or the degree of adhesion at the interfaces.     

Microencapsulation of bisphenol-A bis (diphenyl phosphate) and influence of particle loading on thermal and fire properties of polypropylene and polyethylene terephtalate

Microencapsulated flame retardant, bisphenol-A bis (diphenyl phosphate) (BDP), with a silane shell was prepared by sol–gel process with the goal of incorporating them in polymeric matrices by melt blending to improve the flame retardancy of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and polyethylene terephtalate (PET). The influence of the loading content on thermal transitions has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the thermal stability of the polymer/microcapsules composites has been assessed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and cone calorimetry has been used to study the fire reaction. It was noticed that the microcapsules have a limited influence on the thermal transitions of iPP matrix, but a decrease of the melting and glass transition temperatures was detected for the PET microcomposites. TGA results showed that the addition of microcapsules could improve char formation of the PET systems both in nitrogen and in air atmospheres, whereas only a small improvement of the thermal stability was detected in oxidative atmosphere for the iPP samples. Furthermore, cone calorimeter experiments show that the incorporation of microcapsules in the iPP gives almost no improvement in the iPP fire reaction. However, the microcapsules act as flame retardant in PET reducing the heat release rate during the combustion and the total heat evolved. Therefore, microcapsules can act as a char promoter agent to enhance the fire resistance in the case of PET.     

Microencapsulation of decabromodiphenyl ether by in situ polymerization: Preparation and characterization

Melamine-formaldehyde (MF) resin microcapsules containing decabromodiphenyl ether (DBDPO) with better thermal stability were successfully prepared by in situ polymerization, DBDPO being the core material and MF resins being the wall materials. Chemical structure of the prepared microcapsules was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Morphologies and thermal properties were also investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The results indicated that MF microcapsules with DBDPO particles prepared in this study showed better thermal stability, and could be used as effective flame retardant even for the resins which should be processed at temperatures higher than 350 °C.     

Microchannel emulsification using gelatin and surfactant-free coacervate microencapsulation

In this study, we investigated the use of microchannel (MC) emulsifications in producing monodisperse gelatin/acacia complex coacervate microcapsules of soybean oil. This is considered to be a novel method for preparing monodisperse O/W and W/O emulsions. Generally, surfactants are necessary for MC emulsification, but they can also inhibit the coacervation process. In this study, we investigated a surfactant-free system. First, MC emulsification using gelatin was compared with that using decaglycerol monolaurate. The results demonstrated the potential use of gelatin for MC emulsification. MC emulsification experiments conducted over a range of conditions revealed that the pH of the continuous phase should be maintained above the isoelectric point of the gelatin. A high concentration of gelatin was found to inhibit the production of irregular-sized droplets. Low-bloom gelatin was found to be suitable for obtaining monodisperse emulsions. Finally, surfactant-free monodisperse droplets prepared by MC emulsification were microencapsulated with coacervate. The microcapsules produced by this technique were observed with a confocal laser scanning microscope. Average diameters of the inner cores and outer shells were 37.8 and 51.5 microm; their relative standard deviations were 4.9 and 8.4%.     

Preparation of chitosan/alginate microcapsules by high-voltage electrostatic method

Chitosan and sodium alginate have the opposite charges; they can become a gelatin by the electrostatic attraction, High-voltage electrostatic droplet generator method was used to prepare chitosan-sodium alginate microcapsule. Multi-layer chitosan-sodium alginate microcapsule was prepared through layer-by-layer self-assembly, and the morphology was investigated. In addition, the release property of ofloxacin in microcapsules was studied by UV-Vis microscopy under different conditions such as pH value, layer number, etc. The results showed that the prepared microcapsules have a smooth surface with average particle size about 100 μm. The result of controlled release indicated that the prepared microcapsules are pH-independent, and the rate of release decreased when the layer number increases.     

Preparation and characterization of poly(melamine-formaldehyde) microcapsules filled with propisochlor

A novel propisochlor microcapsules suspension (CS) was prepared via in-situ polymerization. The preparation of melamine-formaldehyde resin microcapsules containing propisochlor with different ratios of core-shell material was investigated. The synthesized microcapsules were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer, Scanning Electron Microscope, Ultraviolet spectrometry, Thermogravimetric analyses and particle size analyzer. As the ratio of core/shell was 1, the diameter of the prepared microcapsules was the smallest (3.55?µm), while narrowest size distribution (span: 1.19) and the melamine formaldehyde microcapsules possessed the highest encapsulation efficiency (93.26%). The surface of the microcapsules was smooth and the microcapsules had poor adhesion. These microcapsules had compact microstructures and global shapes, which had a good thermal stability and propisochlor could be preserved better in the poly(melamine-formaldehyde) (PMF) microcapsules. These results indicated that the prepared microcapsule had better performance. Additionally, the propisochlor was easily degraded through microorganisms and had a short half-life. The microcapsule suspension of propisochlor hasn’t been researched yet. Therefore, it is significant to prepare microcapsule suspension. The technology of controlled release has effectively prolonged the persistence of active ingredients. More importantly, there is no use of organic solvents in the preparation of microcapsules suspension, which avoided the pollution of solvents to the ecological environment.     

复凝聚法制备昆虫激素模拟物十二醇微胶囊及其释放性能

以明胶(GE)和阿拉伯胶(AG)为壁材, 通过复凝聚法将昆虫激素模拟物十二醇(C12OH)包覆在微胶囊中, 改变微胶囊壁材的浓度和交联度, 探讨了体系中C12OH的可控释放性能. 通过对壁材质量比为1及不同pH条件下的壁材凝聚率测试确定最佳复凝聚的pH为4.0; 考察了不同分散剂对微胶囊及其分散液性能的影响, 确定以Tween 20/Span 80(质量比1∶1)作为复凝聚法包覆C12OH体系的分散剂. 在壁材质量分数大于或等于3%条件下制备的微胶囊粒径大于壁材质量分数为2%的微胶囊, 胶囊的载药量和C12OH包覆率明显高于后者. 增加交联剂的用量, 壁材交联度、胶囊的载药量和C12OH包覆率都显著提高. 在相同用量的情况下, 用甲醛作交联剂时得到的微胶囊的交联度比用戊二醛作交联剂时的要低, 但其对C12OH的包覆率更高. 通过扫描电镜对微胶囊进行了分析, 认为GE与AG通过复凝聚能够将C12OH包覆在微胶囊内部. 对胶囊中C12OH在恒温恒湿条件下的释放研究结果表明, 3%与4%壁材含量下1%戊二醛交联的微胶囊和5%壁材含量下4%戊二醛交联的微胶囊中C12OH的释放行为有明显的可控性. 通过调节微胶囊的壁材含量和交联度可以达到昆虫激素可控释放的目的.