COAXIAL DOUBLE-WALLED MICROSPHERES FOR DRUG AND GENE DELIVERY APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Polymeric double-walled microspheres were developed by coaxial electrohydrodynamic atomization (CEHDA) and precision particle fabrication (PPF) techniques. Here, we focus on double-walled microspheres consisting of a poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) core surrounded by a poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PDLLA) or poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) shell layer. The work can be summarized in terms of three research goals. The first goal is to bridge the experimental work on the fabrication of double-walled microspheres from CEHDA and the simulation work on the generation of compound droplets from the same process. The second goal is to examine the drug release and degradation behavior of two double-walled microsphere formulations consisting of a doxorubicin-loaded PLGA core surrounded by a PDLLA shell layer with different molecular weights. The third goal is to design and evaluate double-walled microspheres loaded with chitosan-p53 nanoparticles (gene encoding p53 tumor suppressor protein) and/or doxorubicin in the shell and core phases, respectively, for combined gene therapy and chemotherapy.