Production of PLGA particles by using supercritical carbon dioxide anti-solvent method

Synthetic biodegradable poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)(PLGA) which is derived from lactic acid (LA) and glycolic acid (GA), and their copolymers . They had been widely used for temporary therapeutic application such as drug delivery devices. The biodegradable material used for drug delivery devices which is specified on 5-10μm. In this study, we investigated the use of supercritical CO₂ as anti-solvent in PLGA/ ethyl acetate solution system to manufacture PLGA particle. In order to determine the pressure-volume expansion-temperature behavior of the ethyl acetate/supercritical CO ₂, the modified Peng-Robison equation of state was used. A novel experimental apparatus, which is involving, view window and stirrer has been used to carry out the study. According the experimental results, a range form 5 to 10μm PLGA particle can be obtained by controlling the operation factors such as pressure, temperature, concentration, pressurized rate and agitation, etc. Furthermore, a recrystallized result of PLGA5050 was approved by XRD and DSC test.