Lysozyme (LSZ)-loaded poly-L-lactide (PLLA) porous microparticles (PMs) were successfully prepared by a compressed CO₂ antisolvent process in combination with a water-in-oil emulsion process using LSZ as a drug model and ammonium bicarbonate as a porogen. The effects of different drug loads (5.0%, 7.5% and 10.0%) on the surface morphology, particle size, porosity, tapped density and drug release profile of the harvested PMs were investigated. The results show that an increase in the amount of LSZ added led to an increase in drug load (DL) but a decrease in encapsulation efficiency. The resulting LSZ-loaded PLLA PMs (LSZ-PLLA PMs) exhibited a porous and uneven morphology, with a density less than 0.1 g·cm-3, a geometric mean diameter of 16.9-18.8 μm, an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.8 μm, a fine particle fraction (FPF) of 59.2%-66.8%, and a porosity of 78.2%-86.3%. According to the results of differential scanning calorimetry, the addition of LSZ improved the thermal stability of PLLA. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis and circular dichroism spectroscopy measurement reveal that no significant changes occurred in the molecular structures of LSZ during the fabrication process, which was further confirmed by the evaluation of enzyme activity of LSZ. It is demonstrated that the emulsion-combined precipitation with compressed antisolvent (PCA) process could be a promising technology to develop biomacromolecular drug-loaded inhalable carrier for pulmonary drug delivery.
Keywords: PCA process; PLLA; emulsion; porous microparticles; pulmonary drug delivery.