Towards Microcapsules with Improved Barrier Properties.

Microencapsulation is the generic term for numerous technologies, which are often used when the release rate of an active substance in a medium has to be controlled and/or contact between the active substance and the medium has to be prevented. This is achieved by wrapping the tiny particles or droplets of the active substance (capsule core) with a thin layer, or membrane, of another material (capsule shell). The permeability of the membrane determines whether, how fast and under which conditions the active material will be released and/or the components of the medium will enter the inner part of the capsule.

Development and characterization of a coronary polylactic acid stent prototype generated by selective laser melting.

In-stent restenosis is still an important issue and stent thrombosis is an unresolved risk after coronary intervention. Biodegradable stents would provide initial scaffolding of the stenosed segment and disappear subsequently. The additive manufacturing technology Selective Laser Melting (SLM) enables rapid, parallel, and raw material saving generation of complex 3- dimensional structures with extensive geometric freedom and is currently in use in orthopedic or dental applications.

Submicronparticles from biodegradable polymers.

The objective was to prepare small particles in the nm range with poly(D,L-lactide) and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) applying the spontaneous emulsification process. Polymer parameters as well as process parameters were investigated. The results show that spontaneous emulsification is a simple method to produce small particles in the 200-1000 nm range.