FURI | Spring 2020

Monodispersity of PLGA Microparticles

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In microsphere drug delivery systems, the monodispersity of microparticle determine the rate of drug release and the rate of biodegradation, which are important for patient health. This experiment looked into how polymer (poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)) dissolved in dichloromethane (DCM)), flow rate, the surfactant (polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)) flow rate, and the tube length can impact the monodispersity of the microspheres. Various combination of those three factors were tested and the fabricated microspheres were analyzed with bright field microscopy and ImageJ. The results will determine which combination will be the best for monodispersity of microspheres.