Elastin-like Polypeptide Microspheres: A Stimuli-Responsive Vehicle for Controlled Drug Delivery

摘要

Results of the study establish the feasibility of using Microglassification to fabricate stimuli-sensitive ELP microspheres with precise control over particle size and morphology. Single-particle analysis showed that each water-in-oil type ELP emulsion microdroplet formed in n-decanol readily lost bulk water until the water activities of both phases were in equilibrium. The T_t of ELP microspheres decreased with increasing kosmotropic salt concentration, which may have been due to the polarization of interfacial water molecules involved in hydrating amide groups on ELP. Finally, ELP microspheres demonstrated low initial burst, and remarkably controllable dissolution profile upon thermal trigger in physiological media over 15 days. It is expected that ELP microspheres, upon conjugation with chemotherapeutics, can serve as a programmable drug delivery platform for local delivery to treat liver cancer.