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Production of double‐walled nanoparticles containing meloxicam
Author(s) -
Albuquerque Bruna,
Costa Mariana Sousa,
Peça Inês N.,
Cardoso M. Margarida
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.23256
Subject(s) - materials science , plga , meloxicam , differential scanning calorimetry , chemical engineering , sonication , polymer , vinyl alcohol , nanoparticle , solvent , solubility , polymer chemistry , composite material , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , chemistry , medicine , physics , engineering , pharmacology , thermodynamics
Double‐walled nanospheres, containing meloxicam, were fabricated with poly‐( D,L ‐lactide‐ co ‐glycolide) (PLGA) and poly( L ‐lactide) (PLLA) using the solvent evaporation technique. This article discusses the effect of formulation variables [sonication power, sonication time, concentration of poly(vinyl alcohol), organic/aqueous volume ratio in the first emulsion] on the production of double‐walled nanospheres. The involved phase separation of these two polymers was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry. Double‐walled microspheres containing meloxicam were also produced to determine the composition of the shell and core polymer, based on different solubilities of polymers in ethyl acetate, and to examine the inner morphology and drug distribution using optical and fluorescence microscopy. The produced microparticles have shown a double‐walled structure with meloxicam solubilized in the PLGA‐rich phase. Therefore, adjusting the selected formulation variables and using a mass ratio of 1:1 PLLA/PLGA, double‐walled nanospheres where meloxicam is dispersed within the core can be produced. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers