Preparation of polylactic acid microcapsules containing ciprofloxacin.

Microcapsules have been used as drug delivery systems in the pharmaceutical field for sustained or controlled release of drug, and for artificial cells and organs. Biodegradable polymers, especially polylactic acid, have been widely used in this field. In this study, an attempt was made to develop a new method to prepare polylactic acid microcapsules for drug delivery. The biodegradable polylactic acid microcapsules were made by the phase separation process: two types of polylactic acid, poly[(D,L)lactic acid] and poly[(L)lactic acid] were combined as the membrane material. Because of the difference of the crystal properties of the two polymers, the aggregation which happens frequently in the phase separation process was prevented. As a model drug, Ciprofloxacin was encapsulated in the polylactic acid microcapsules.