Biodegradable hollow fibres containing drug-loaded nanoparticles as controlled release systems

A 'multiple' delivery system was studied, consisting of hollow microfibres containing drug-loaded nanoparticles. Both fibres and nanoparticles are made of biodegradable polymers, so that the system does not need any surgical operation to be removed. The main advantage of the system is that it allows the contemporaneous release of different kinds of drugs. Copolymers of poly(lactic acid) and epsilon-caprolactone were used for the preparation of the fibres through both wet and dry-wet spinning procedures. Two types of nanoparticles, gelatin and poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles, were prepared by simple water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions, respectively. Drugs such as dexamethasone and methotrexate were used to load the particles. The technique employed for the preparation of the nanoparticles filled fibres was described and the drug release characteristics of this system were investigated and compared with those of the free nanoparticles. (C) 2002 Society of Chemical Industry.