One limitation concerning the delivery of bioactive agents is their relatively short half-life when administered into the body. Incorporation of bioactive agents into depot vehicles provides a means to increase their persistence at the disease site in order to confine its availability to a targeted region and thus avoid stimulation at undesired sites. In this work, starch-polycaprolactone (SPCL) microparticles were developed to be used in drug delivery and TE applications.

SPCL microparticles were prepared by using an emulsion solvent evaporation technique and different experimental conditions were evaluated. They were characterized in terms of morphology (scanning electron microscopy) and size distribution (sieving). In addition, their chemical structure was studied (Fourier infrared spectroscopy). To evaluate the potential of developed microparticles as a drug delivery system, dexamethasone was used as model drug and as an osteogenic factor. DEX was entrapped into SPCL microparticles at different percentages. The loading efficiencies and release profiles were evaluated.

By using the methodology describes herein, it was possible to obtain particles with a spherical morphology, exhibiting different surfaces, from smooth to porous, and with sizes 100-550 micrometer. The release behavior of the entrapped molecules seems to be governed by diffusion and degradation of the polymeric matrix. Therefore, these microparticle systems seem to be quite promising for controlled release applications and, at the same time, as carriers of important differentiation agents in the field of TE.

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