Effects of protective colloids on the preparation of poly(l-lactide)/poly(butylene succinate) microcapsules

Poly(l-lactide)/poly(butylene succinate) microcapsules containing an aqueous solution of sodium(+)-tartrate dihydrate were prepared by the interfacial precipitation method through solvent evaporation from (w/o)/w emulsion. The effects of poly(vinyl alcohol) used as a protective colloid in the microencapsulation were investigated regarding thermal properties, particle size distributions, surface morphologies, and release behaviors of the biodegradable microcapsules. It was concluded that encapsulation efficiency, surface morphologies, thermal properties, and releasing speed were closely related to the particle size distributions of microcapsules under different conditions of the protective colloid. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.