A Flow Imaging Microscopy-Based Method Using Mass-to-Volume Ratio to Derive the Porosity of PLGA Microparticles.

The release of drugs from poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles depends to a large extent on the porosity of the particles. Therefore, porosity determination of PLGA microparticles is extremely important during pharmaceutical product development. Currently, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) is widely used despite its disadvantages, such as the need for a large amount of sample (several hundreds of milligrams) and residual toxic waste.