Sustained Release of Bioactive Compounds from Polymer Microcapsules for Smart Dental Composites

摘要

Natural plant extracts have been shown as effective and attractive dentalbiomaterials with promising properties for restorative/reparative procedures. Thesebioactive extracts, however, may lose their stability when exposed to air, moisture, orlight, if not well-protected. Here, we present a novel technique for sequesteringbioactive extracts within polymer microcapsules for long-term stability and controlledrelease of active compounds as needed. We use a combination of water-oil-water(W/O/W) double emulsion and solvent evaporation techniques to encapsulate watersolublebioactives within polymer microcapsules. Polylactide acid was used as theencapsulating polymer to provide sustained release of bioactive compounds frommicrocapsules. Manufactured microcapsules possess a polynuclear inner structure as aresult of two-step double emulsion technique. We demonstrate the ability to controlthe size and core loading of microcapsules with varying the key microencapsulationparameters.