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Poly(lactic‐ co ‐glycolic acid) microspheres as a potential bulking agent for urological injection therapy: Preliminary results
Author(s) -
Cho Eui Ri,
Kang SunWoong,
Kim ByungSoo
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part b: applied biomaterials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1552-4981
pISSN - 1552-4973
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.b.30138
Subject(s) - plga , microsphere , glycolic acid , silicone , biomedical engineering , subcutaneous injection , chemistry , materials science , medicine , lactic acid , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , nanoparticle , bacteria , organic chemistry , biology , engineering , genetics
Injection of bulking substances has been introduced as a new therapy to treat urinary incontinence and vesicoureteral reflux. Currently available bulking substances for the injection therapies include liquid or particulated silicone, collagen gel, and polytetrafluoroethylene paste. However, these materials have shown shortcomings such as inflammation, rapid volume decrease, and particle migration to distant organs. In the present study, we evaluated poly(lactic‐ co ‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres as a potential injectable bulking agent for the injection therapies. PLGA microspheres (52 μm in average diameter) were injectable through various gauges of needles, as the injected microspheres showed no tendency to obstruct the needles and microsphere size exclusion was not observed upon injection through the needles. After injection of PLGA microspheres into the subcutaneous dorsum of mice, inflammation, new tissue volume change, and microsphere migration were examined. Host cells from the surrounding tissues migrated to the implanted microspheres and formed new hybrid tissue structures. The volume of the newly generated tissues was maintained approximately constant for 7 weeks. Histological analyses showed no evidence of migration of the implanted microspheres to the distant organs. In summary, PLGA microspheres were injectable and able to induce a new hybrid tissue formation without initial volume decrease or particle migration. These preliminary results suggest that this material may be a potentially useful bulking agent for urological injection therapies. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 72B: 166–172, 2005