Low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC) is a promising polymer for surface modification of nanoparticles (NPs), which can impart both stealth effect and electrostatic interaction with cells at mildly acidic pH of tumors. We previously produced LMWC-coated NPs via covalent conjugation to poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA-LMWC NPs). However, this method had several weaknesses including inefficienc...

PLGA (poly d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulating magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) along with a model drug human serum albumin (HSA) were prepared by double emulsion solvent evaporation method. This Part I will focus on size and size distribution of prepared NPs, whereas encapsulation efficiency will be discussed in Part II. It was found that mean hydrodynamic particle siz...

Microspheres were formed from blends of the biodegradable polymer poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) together with poly(epsilon-CBZ-L-lysine) (PCBZL) by a double-emulsification/solvent evaporation technique. The size of the microspheres formed by this method was dependent both on the total concentration of the polymers and on the ratio of PLGA to PCBZL. The use of the microspheres for enca...

Lifetime prolongation for hydrophobic drug carriers has been the focus of interest for many years. Poloxamer (Pluronic F68, PF68) has been employed in this study for modifying the surface of magnetic poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with human serum albumin (HSA) model drug. Surface characteristics of untreated and PF68 treated NPs were analyzed by size, zeta ...

Sufficient vascularization in engineered tissues can be achieved through coordinated application of improved biomaterial systems with proper cell types. In this study, we employed 3D fibrin gels alone or in combination with the synthetic poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA)/polylactic-glycolic acid (PLGA) sponges to support in-vitro construct vascularization and to enhance neovascularization upon implant...

Current materials used for adipose tissue reconstruction have critical shortcomings such as suboptimal volume retention, donor-site morbidity, and poor biocompatibility. The aim of this study was to examine a controlled delivery system of dexamethasone to generate stable adipose tissue when mixed with disaggregated human fat in an athymic mouse model for 6 months. The hypothesis that the contin...

We have formulated hydrophobic curcurmin [1,7-bis-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione] into stable nanoparticle suspensions (nanocurcumin) to overcome its relatively low bioavailability, high rate of metabolism, and rapid elimination and clearance from the body. Employing the curcumin nanoformulations as the platform, we discovered that curcumin has the potential to alleviate m...

The present research was aimed to develop and characterize a sustained release dry powder inhalable formulation of salbutamol sulphate. The salbutamol sulphate microparticles were prepared by solvent evaporation method using biodegradable polymer poly (D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) to produce salbutamol sulphate microparticle mixed with carrier respirable grade lactose for oral inhalation of dry...

The spontaneous healing of aqueous pores in poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) drug delivery systems has been identified to play a key role in terminating the burst release of large molecules, and to provide a means for novel aqueous-based microencapsulation. To examine healing of PLGA, pores were created of defined size and depth on the surface of thin PLGA films by stamping with blunt-t...

We developed a novel dual-modal contrast agent for the structural and functional imaging of cancer. The contrast agent was fabricated by encapsulating indocyanine green (ICG) in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microbubbles using a modified double-emulsion method. More stabilized absorption and fluorescence emission characteristics were observed for aqueous and plasma suspensions of ICG-enc...