Poster Presenter

Fabrication Of Micro And Nano Scaled Estradiol-Loaded Particles Via Co-Axial Electrohydrodynamic Processing
M. Enayati, Z. Ahmad, E. Stride and M. Edirisinghe
UK

PLGA drug-loaded particles were produced using a single-step process which provides control over particle size, size distribution and polydispersivity. The co-axial electrohydrodynamic processing (EHP) method utilized in this work, whereby two concentric liquid jets are formed simultaneously, provides a means of directly encapsulating a drug inside a polymeric carrier of a pre-determined size in a single step. Particles are produced at the ambient temperature and pressure, thus overcoming the problems associated with defunctionalisation of drugs under extreme processing conditions. PLGA carrier particles size ranged from nano to micro sacle and the size increased as a function of the polymer concentration. The influence of polymer concentration (2, 5 & 10 wt%) on the release profiles was studied in vitro. The drug release from the particles was biphasic, starting with an initial short burst phase and followed by a longer period characterized by a lower release rate. The release rate from particles produced from PLGA:DMAC 10 wt% solution was markedly slower than from particles produced from PLGA:DMAC 2 & 5 wt% solutions. The effect of ultrasound exposure on release profile was also studied using an ultrasonic cell disruptor. The release profile was clearly affected by exposing the particles to ultrasound. An increase in the rate of drug release was observed for all the samples exposed to ultrasound with a greater increase obtained for longer exposures as would be expected.