Mechanism and kinetics of enzymatic degradation of polyester microparticles using a shrinking particle-shrinking core model.

Generalized shrinking particle (SPM) and shrinking core (SCM) models were developed to the kinetics of heterogenous enzymatic degradation of polymer microparticles in a continuous microflow system. This enzymatic degradation was performed in a microfluidic device designed to both physically separate and immobilize the microparticles. Then time-resolved measurements were made using image processing of the physical changes of the particles during degradation.