earticle

영어

In this study, biodegradable poly(L-lactic acid) (L-PLA) microparticles containing gemcitabine (2,2-difluorodeoxycytidine, dFdC) were prepared by a supercritical process, called aerosol solvent extraction system (ASES). ASES is a method based on solvent extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide for the preparation of microparticles and microspheres. Gemcitabine is an effective antitumor agent in the treatment of several solid tumors. However, it has problems such as short plasma half-life, rapid metabolism, and low selectivity towards tumor tissue. The influence of operating parameters such as temperature, pressure, drug/polymer feed ratio, and polymer molecular weight on the morphology and release characteristics was studied in detail. The drug recovery, entrapment efficiency, and drug release profiles were determined by HPLC assays. The drug recovery was found to be about 70~80%. The entrapment efficiency decreased with increasing temperature and drug/polymer ratio. The ASES-processed gemcitabine-loaded microparticles showed a relatively high initial burst due to the poor affinity between gemcitabine and L-PLA.