PLGA from PolySciTech used in development of novel microfabrication technique for generating drug-loaded microparticles

 

Most general engineering is accomplished by macroscopic manufacturing techniques of conventional cutting, molding, milling, and other shaping applications. These methods generally do not work at the submicron scale which is smaller than what conventional machinery can handle. Recently, researchers at the Technical University of Denmark utilized PLGA (AP036) from PolySciTech (www.polyscitech.com) to create a sheet of Furosemide (an anti-edema drug used to reduce swelling) loaded PLGA and then cut out a series of microparticles from it using a novel Micromechanical Punching technique. This research holds promise to provide for improved manufacturing techniques to generate microparticles. Read more: Petersen, Ritika Singh, Anja Boisen, and Stephan Sylvest Keller. "Micromechanical Punching: A Versatile Method for Non-Spherical Microparticle Fabrication." Polymers 13, no. 1 (2021): 83. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/1/83

“Abstract: Microparticles are ubiquitous in applications ranging from electronics and drug delivery to cosmetics and food. Conventionally, non-spherical microparticles in various materials with specific shapes, sizes, and physicochemical properties have been fabricated using cleanroom-free lithography techniques such as soft lithography and its high-resolution version particle replication in non-wetting template (PRINT). These methods process the particle material in its liquid/semi-liquid state by deformable molds, limiting the materials from which the particles and the molds can be fabricated. In this study, the microparticle material is exploited as a sheet placed on a deformable substrate, punched by a robust mold. Drawing inspiration from the macro-manufacturing technique of punching metallic sheets, Micromechanical Punching (MMP) is a high-throughput technique for fabrication of non-spherical microparticles. MMP allows production of microparticles from prepatterned, porous, and fibrous films, constituting thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. As an illustration of application of MMP in drug delivery, flat, microdisk-shaped Furosemide embedded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microparticles are fabricated and Furosemide release is observed. Thus, it is shown in the paper that Micromechanical punching has potential to make micro/nanofabrication more accessible to the research and industrial communities active in applications that require engineered particles. Keywords: non-spherical microparticle; soft lithography; drug delivery; punching”