title: Three-dimensional study of poly(lactic co-glycolic acid) micro-porous microspheres using hard X-ray nano-tomography.
abstract: Poly(lactic co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is widely used in diverse fields, especially in delivering biologically active proteins and drugs. For these applications, the knowledge of morphology and microstructure of PLGA micro-porous microspheres is of great importance since they strongly influence the drug delivering efficiency. In this study, micro-porous PLGA microspheres loaded by bovine serum albumin are investigated by using a full-field Zernike phase contrast transmission hard X-ray microscope. From three-dimensional reconstructions and segmentations, fundamental microstructural parameters such as size, shape, distribution and volume ratio among pores and proteins inside PLGA microspheres were obtained. These parameters are useful to understand the relationship between the internal microstructure and drug encapsulation, as well as the drug release efficiency of PLGA microspheres. The presented results demonstrate the capability of hard X-ray nano-tomography to characterize porous microspheres loaded with proteins and drugs, and also open a way to analyse, optimize and design new PLGA microspheres for specific applications.
authors.affiliation: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, 42 Hezuohua South Road, Hefei, Anhui 230029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dajiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, 42 Hezuohua South Road, Hefei, Anhui 230029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhili
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, 42 Hezuohua South Road, Hefei, Anhui 230029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yongming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, 42 Hezuohua South Road, Hefei, Anhui 230029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shengxiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, 42 Hezuohua South Road, Hefei, Anhui 230029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, 42 Hezuohua South Road, Hefei, Anhui 230029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qigang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, 42 Hezuohua South Road, Hefei, Anhui 230029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ziyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D008863:Microspheres; D010316:Particle Size; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D012709:Serum Albumin; D014056:Tomography, X-Ray / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D012709:Serum Albumin; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide)
keywords: PLGA microspheres; drug delivery; hard X-ray imaging; nano-tomography; salt concentration