title: Prilling and supercritical drying: A successful duo to produce core-shell polysaccharide aerogel beads for wound healing.
abstract: Bacterial infections often affect the wound, delaying healing and causing areas of necrosis. In this work, an aerogel in form of core-shell particles, able to prolong drug activity on wounds and to be easily removed was developed. Aerogel microcapsules consisted of a core made by amidated pectin hosting doxycycline, an antibiotic drug with a broad spectrum of action, and a shell consisting of high mannuronic content alginate. Particles were obtained by prilling using a coaxial nozzle for drop production and an ethanolic solution of CaCl2 as gelling promoter. The alcogels where dried using supercritical CO2. The influence of polysaccharides and drug concentrations on aerogel properties was evaluated. Spherical particles with high drug encapsulation efficiency (87%) correlated to alginate concentration in the processed liquid feeds were obtained. The release of the drug, mainly concentrated into the pectin core, was prolonged till 48h, and dependent on both drug/pectin ratio and alginate concentration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 I-84084 Fisciano SA, Italy.
authors.forename: Felicetta
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Cicco
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 I-84084 Fisciano SA, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 I-84084 Fisciano SA, Italy.
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reverchon
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: García-González
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 I-84084 Fisciano SA, Italy.
authors.forename: Rita Patrizia
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Aquino
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 I-84084 Fisciano SA, Italy. Electronic address: pdelgaudio@unisa.it.
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Del Gaudio
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry; D002122:Calcium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry; D003890:Desiccation; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005782:Gels / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005782:Gels; D011134:Polysaccharides; D002122:Calcium Chloride
keywords: Aerogel; Alginate; Doxycycline; Pectin; Prilling; Supercritical-CO(2)