Exploring the pivotal role of hot melt extrusion technology in developing PLGA based novel drug delivery platforms for better therapeutic outcomes
摘要
Among various biodegradable polymers, polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) is one of most widely studied synthetic polymer for controlled and targeted drug delivery. PLGA is a smart polymer as it has stimuli-responsive behaviour. PLGA is approved by the US FDA for multiple therapeutic applications due to its biodegradability, biocompatibility and sustained-release behaviour. PLGA is commercially available as different molecular weights and copolymer ratios, which allow for tuning polymer behaviour to suit numerous applications. Different methods have been used to process PLGA into diverse morphologies, structures and sizes. Traditional PLGA processing methods face many limitations related to scalability and residual solvents. This review was limited to the emerging hot melt extrusion (HME), a more specific, solvent-free and highly scalable technology for fabricating PLGA-based formulations. Key operational parameters such as glass transition temperature, melt viscosity, and degradation behaviour are discussed alongside with the drug-related stability, dispersion and final solid-state properties that need several factors to be fine-tuned to offer a performance with optimal efficiency. This tunability of characteristics makes PLGA driven by HME ideal for fabrication with advanced manufacturing technologies to deliver surprisingly novel drug delivery platforms that can boost therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance across a range of clinical fields.