A synergy effect between the hydrophilic PEG and rapid solvent evaporation induced formation of tunable porous microspheres from a triblock copolymer

Abstract

A uniform Evansblue-loaded biodegradable amphiphilic poly(lactide-co-glycolide-b-ethylene glycol-b-lactide-co-glycolide)(PLGE) porous microsphere prepared by a synergy effect between the hydrophilic PEG and rapid solvent evaporation is reported. Our approach is based on the double emulsion (W/O/W) in which solvent evaporates rapidly. We show the introduction of hydrophilic PEG and rapid solvent evaporation play an important role in the formation of biodegradable porous microspheres. The microsphere size, pore size and distribution as well as drug loading efficiency can be well controlled by varying the polymer compositions. Meanwhile, the drug release behaviors of PLGE porous microspheres are also discussed.