Polylactide-based microspheres prepared using solid-state copolymerized chitosan and d,l-lactide

Abstract

Amphiphilic chitosan-g-poly(d,l-lactide) copolymers have been manufactured via solid-state mechanochemical copolymerization and tailored to design polyester-based microspheres for tissue engineering. A single-step solid-state reactive blending (SSRB) using low-temperature co-extrusion has been used to prepare these copolymers. These materials have been valorized to stabilize microspheres processed by an oil/water emulsion evaporation technique. Introduction of the copolymers either in water or in the oil phase of the emulsion allowed to replace a non-degradable emulsifier typically used for microparticle preparation. To enhance cell adhesion, these copolymers were also tailored to bring amino-saccharide positively charged segments to the microbead surface. Size distribution, surface morphology, and total microparticle yield have been studied and optimized as a function of the copolymer composition.

Keywords: Chitosan; Graft copolymers; Microparticles; Oil/water emulsion; Solid-state reactive blending; Tissue engineering; d,l-Lactide.