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1. Effect of Mechanical Loading on PLGA Biodegradation

   Smanta, Devleena; Koithan, John A; Muliana, Anastasia; Pharr, Matt (June 2025, Polymer degradation and stability)
2. Effect of Mechanical Loading on PLGA Biodegradation

   Samanta, Devleena; Koithan, John A; Muliana, Anastasia H; Pharr, Matt (June 2025, Polymer degradation and stability)

   Poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) has been widely implemented in tissue engineering and drug delivery systems, stemming from its biocompatibility, controllable biodegradation, non-toxicity, non-immunogenicity, and tunable mechanical properties. PLGA exhibits a broad range of degradation times and modes, which can be finely tuned by adjusting various parameters, namely by altering the ratio of lactide and glycolide units, molecular weight, end group functionality, specimen geometry, processing temperature, and chemistry of the surrounding medium. To tailor the degradation profile, the in vitro profile should closely reflect the in vivo profile; however, the effects of mechanical loading coupled with hydrolysis on PLGA biodegradation are typically overlooked. To this end, this study investigates the combined effects of mechanical loading and hydrolysis at 37ºC on the changes in the chemical and physical properties of PLGA as it degrades with time. We found that after several days of combined loading and hydrolysis at 37ºC PLGA significantly creeps, whereas non-loaded (but hydrolyzed) specimens only slightly elongated after relatively long-term hydrolysis (~60 days). Despite this observation and perhaps counterintuitively, the hydrolyzed non-loaded samples exhibited faster degradation than hydrolyzed loaded samples. Additionally, our studies indicated the presence of bulk erosion in hydrolyzed non-loaded samples and surface erosion in hydrolyzed loaded samples. We also observed (only) physical ageing in control samples (loaded and non-loaded samples that were not immersed in PBS but exposed to 37 °C). Based on these observations, we discuss potential underlying mechanisms for the observed differences in the biodegradation behavior of PLGA specimens with and without mechanical loading. 

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3. Phenomenology of the Initial Burst Release of Drugs from PLGA Microparticles

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c01228  

   Yoo, Jin; Won, You-Yeon (November 2020, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering)

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4. Processing-structure–property relationships of oleanolic acid loaded PLGA fiber membranes

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-08246-4  

   Ahmed, Salahuddin; Padilla-Gainza, Victoria M; Gilkerson, Robert; Narula, Acharan; Lozano, Karen (March 2023, Journal of Materials Science)
5. The application of electrosprayed minocycline‐loaded PLGA microparticles for the treatment of glioblastoma

   https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.28527  

   Arriaga, Marco_A; Amieva, Jr., Juan_A; Quintanilla, Jaqueline; Jimenez, Angela; Ledezma, Julio; Lopez, Silverio; Martirosyan, Karen_S; Chew, Sue_Anne (August 2023, Biotechnology and Bioengineering)

   Abstract The survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and invasive form of malignant brain tumors, remains poor despite advances in current treatment methods including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Minocycline is a semi‐synthetic tetracycline derivative that has been widely used as an antibiotic and more recently, it has been utilized as an antiangiogenic factor to inhibit tumorigenesis. The objective of this study was to investigate the utilization of electrospraying process to fabricate minocycline‐loaded poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles with high drug loading and loading efficiency and to evaluate their ability to induce cell toxicity in human glioblastoma (i.e., U87‐MG) cells. The results from this study demonstrated that solvent mixture of dicholoromethane (DCM) and methanol is the optimal solvent combination for minocycline and larger amount of methanol (i.e., 70:30) resulted in a higher drug loading. All three solvent ratios of DCM:methanol tested produced microparticles that were both spherical and smooth, all in the micron size range. The electrosprayed microparticles were able to elicit a cytotoxic response in U87‐MG glioblastoma cells at a lower concentration of drug compared to the free drug. This work provides proof of concept to the hypothesis that electrosprayed minocycline‐loaded PLGA microparticles can be a promising agent for the treatment of GBM and could have potential application for cancer therapies. 

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