Recent advances in the preparation progress of protein/peptide drug loaded PLA/PLGA microspheres

Sustained release drug delivery from microparticles is an excellent alternative for daily protein/peptide drug administration protocol. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) are the most commonly used polymer carriers in the development of protein/peptide microspheres. Basically there are three preparation methods for PLA/PLGA microspheres: the solvent extraction/evaporation based multiple emulsion (W/O/W emulsion) method, the phase separation method and the spray drying method. The stability of the protein/pipetide loaded, encapsulation efficiency, and the burst effect of the microspheres are key problems usually met in the preparation of microspheres. In this review the preparation techniques and progress in the development of protein/pipetide microspheres which aimed to stabilize protein/peptide structural integrity, keep the bioactivity of drugs, increase the encapsulation efficiency and improve the release profile were summarized and evaluated.