Coaxial Electrospray of Curcumin-Loaded Microparticles for Sustained Drug Release

Abstract

Curcumin exhibits superior anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and analgesic activities without significant side effects. However, clinical dissemination of this natural medicine is limited by its low solubility and poor bio-availability. To overcome this limitation, we propose to encapsulate curcumin in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles (MPs) by an improved coaxial electrospray (CES) process. This process is able to generate a stable cone-jet mode in a wide range of operation parameters in order to produce curcumin-loaded PLGA MPs with a clear core-shell structure and a designated size of several micrometers. In order to optimize the process outcome, the effects of primary operation parameters such as the applied electric voltages and the liquid flow rates are studied systemically. In vitro drug release experiments are also carried out for the CES-produced MPs in comparison with those by a single axial electrospray process. Our experimental results show that the CES process can be effectively controlled to encapsulate drugs of low aqueous solubility for high encapsulation efficiency and optimal drug release profiles.

Sustained release paclitaxel-loaded core-shell-structured solid lipid microparticles for intraperitoneal chemotherapy of ovarian cancer

“…Recently, we succeeded in preparing artemether-loaded and curcumin-loaded core-shell-structured PLGA MPs using CEHDA process for different applications in our lab [23,34]. However, in the present study, we have developed CEHDA technology for scalable production of PTX-laden SLMPs (PTX-SLMPs) with core-shell structure in a single-step process.…”

“…Several delivery systems, including mono-disperse Taxol-loaded poly-caprolactone (PCL) MPs, are fabricated using single axial electrospray with high encapsulation efficiency [22]. This process is able to produce particles in a single step, but the resultant drug release profile is suboptimal due to the lack of a core-shell structure [23]. The coaxial electro hydrodynamic atomization (CEHDA) process has the ability to overcome this limitation by producing multilayer microparticles with a core-shell structure [23].…”

“…This process is able to produce particles in a single step, but the resultant drug release profile is suboptimal due to the lack of a core-shell structure [23]. The coaxial electro hydrodynamic atomization (CEHDA) process has the ability to overcome this limitation by producing multilayer microparticles with a core-shell structure [23]. The CEHDA process not only enables the encapsulation of drugs and proteins with high efficiency but also protects their bioactivities in a well-defined core-shell structure [24].…”

Poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) devices: Production and applications for sustained protein delivery

“…The resulting material avoids complications with protein dispersion throughout a polymer matrix by localizing protein within the interior of the structure (Zamani, Prabhakaran, Thian, & Ramakrishna, 2014). Controlling the flow rate of both the fluids is essential in the successful formation of the core-shell structure and the thickness of the polymer shell can be tuned via the flow rate of the polymer phase (Jiang et al, 2005;Yuan et al, 2015). The polymer concentration and molecular weight are also important parameters due to the influence on the solution viscoelastic properties (Ramachandran et al, 2017).…”

Innovative next-generation PLGA microparticles with multifunctional architecture

“…Yuan et al reported a CES system consisting of a droplet generation module, a droplet collection module, and a process monitoring module [17]. The droplet generation module included a coaxial needle made of an inner needle and an outer needle.…”