Sustained release of bovine serum albumin using implantable wafers prepared by MPEG-PLGA diblock copolymers

MPEG-PLGA diblock copolymers, consisting of methoxy polyethylene glycol (MPEG) and poly(l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of l-lactide and glycolide in the presence of MPEG as an initiator. Implantable wafers, using diblock copolymers as a drug carrier, were fabricated by direct compression method after freeze milling of the diblock copolymers and bovine serum albumin-fluorescein isothiocyanate (BSA-FITC) as a model protein drug. The wafers prepared with MPEG-PLGA diblock copolymers exhibited initial burst in the release of BSA. The BSA release profiles from the wafers depended on MPEG-PLGA diblock copolymer compositions. The in vitro release of the BSA also correlated with the degradation rate of the PLGA part in the diblock polymers. The wafers prepared from diblock copolymers with an increased MPEG segment showed the more structural metamorphosis of crack form due to higher water absorption of MPEG inside the wafer, and induced faster BSA release. The wafers prepared by using MPEG-PLGA diblock copolymers in the presence of small intestinal submucosa (SIS) as a drug carrier additive exhibited controlled BSA release profiles, although the wafers exhibited release patterns with a lag time at the initial stage as the MPEG segment in diblock copolymer compositions increased. Thus, we confirmed that the MPEG-PLGA diblock copolymers could be used as a protein delivery carrier in implantable wafer form.