Abstract:
To prepare thymosin alpha-1 (T
α1) loaded injectable sustained release microspheres and to evaluate its release behavior, bioactivities
in vitro as well as its pharmacodynamics
in vivo, T
α1 loaded microspheres was prepared with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) as carrier material by double emulsion (W/O/W) method. Physical and chemical properties of microspheres, such as mean diameter, morphology and drug loading were evaluated. The release behavior and its influencing factors were evaluated by HPLC determination. The bioactivity of T
α1 in the course of encapsulation process and
in vitro release ware evaluated by CCK-8 method. The ratio of CD
4+/CD
8+ in blood was determined with flow cytometry and the pharmacodynamics of T
α1 loaded microspheres was evaluated by the change of CD
4+/CD
8+. Microspheres with good shape and dispersive quality were prepared. The drug entrapment efficiency of two optimizing prescriptions containing 5% NaCl and 10% glucose as outer water phase were 87.8% and 90.2%, respectively. The cumulated release in one month is up to 90%. The bioactivity of T
α1 was conserved with glucose as outer water phase, but in the course of
in vitro release, the specific activity of T
α1 in the microspheres decreased a little. T
α1 microspheres can increase significantly the immunity of immuno-suppressed rats. T
α1 can be encapsulated in injectable microspheres to yield one-month continuous release when using biodegradable polymers PLGA as carrier material, and this technique will have a favorable perspective in the near future.