Formulation and in vitro characterization of inhalable rifampicin-loaded PLGA microspheres for sustained lung delivery

The solvent evaporation method with premix membrane homogenization was applied, with class-3 ethyl acetate as organic solvent, to produce narrowly size-distributed rifampicin (RIF)-loaded poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres for sustained lung delivery as aerosol. Microsphere formulations (simple or multiple emulsions, different PLGA and RIF concentrations) and process parameters (transmembrane pressure, SPG membrane pore diameter) were investigated as their effects on RIF content, microsphere size, aerodynamic properties of the freeze-dried powder and in vitro release profiles. Narrowly size distributed microspheres with diameters from 2 to 8 μm, satisfactory RIF contents (from 4.9 to 16.5%), 80% RIF release from 12 h to 4 days, and adequate aerodynamic properties were prepared from a multiple emulsion and using SPG membrane pore diameter of 19.9 μm. The premix membrane homogenization appeared to be a rapid and efficient method to prepare monodisperse drug-loaded microspheres suitable for lung delivery as sustained-release microsphere aerosol.

Graphical abstractScanning electron micrograph of rifampicin-loaded PLGA microspheres prepared from O/W (a and b) or W/O/W (c and d) emulsions homogenized by a premix membrane homogenization process (3 cycles).Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide