Preparing Poly (Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid) (PLGA) Microspheres Containing Lysozyme-Zinc Precipitate Using a Modified Double Emulsion Method.

Lysozyme, as a model protein, was precipitated through the formation of protein-Zn complex to micronize for subsequent encapsulation within poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres. Various parameters, including pH, type and concentration of added salts and protein concentration, were modified to optimize the yield of protein complexation and precipitation. The resulting protein particles (lysozyme-Zn complex as a freshly prepared suspension or a freeze-dried solid) were then loaded into PLGA (Resomer(®) 503H) microspheres, using a double emulsion technique and microspheres encapsulation efficiency and their sizes were determined.

Symptom-oriented follow-up of early breast cancer is not inferior to conventional control. Results of a prospective multicentre study.

Background: The homogeneity of the schemes for follow-up care after curative surgical treatment of early breast cancer is still a matter of debate in Germany. We investigated whether symptom-oriented follow-up is equivalent in terms of survival rates to conventional surveillance based on scheduled tests.

Patients And Methods: In a prospective, non-randomised, multicentre cohort study carried out between 1995 and 2000, 244 patients underwent a conventional follow-up (scheduled laboratory tests including CEA and CA 15-3, chest X-rays and liver ultrasound).

Stabilizing insulin-like growth factor-I in poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres.

This study aimed at developing a controlled drug delivery system for recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) for localized delivery in bone healing. IGF-I was microencapsulated into an end-group uncapped 14 kDa poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) 50:50 (PLGA 50:50) by solvent extraction from a W(1)/O/W(2) dispersion. Prior to encapsulation, IGF-I was exposed to ultrasonication in a water/dichloromethane dispersion, and its stability tested in the presence and absence of various excipients in the W(1) phase.