Cell-Binding PLGA Microdisk for Sustained Drug Delivery in Blood

Circulation

Junfei Xiaa, Zhibin Wanga, Jingjiao Guana,b,*

aDepartment of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida State

University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310, USA

bIntegrative NanoScience Institute, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA

Abstract

Biodegradable drug-containing microparticles that can bind to circulating blood cells potentially allow sustained drug delivery in the blood circulation. We are developing a top-down microfabrication technique to produce disk-shaped poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles termed microdisks with one surface being adhesive to blood cells and the other non-adhesive. Moreover, the lateral size of the microdisk is smaller than that of the single blood cells, so a microdisk only binds to a single blood cell but does not crosslink multiple cells. As a result, the risk of clogging the blood vessels by the aggregated cells is eliminated. We will present the methodology for producing the microdisks and generating the complexes of microdisks and live cells. We will also report a study on the effect of binding by the microdisk to the viability and proliferation of the cells over one week. In addition, we will present characterization of degradation and drug release of the drug-containing microdisks in a condition that mimics the physiological environment.
Sustained drug delivery in blood circulation promises to be useful for treating many diseases such as hypertension, leukemia and infections caused by blood-borne viruses. Compared to the conventional methods by using blood cells as drug carriers, our technique is advantageous by allowing high drug-loading capacity while carrying low risk of clogging blood vessels.