Mild Anticoagulant Effect of Heparin-Loaded Polycaprolactone Microspheres.

This development of the micro- and nanoparticle technology will bring a new momentum to drug delivery and biomedical therapy. In this case, heparin-loaded polycaprolactone microspheres (PCL-Hep MSs) were prepared by a single-step phase separation method, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The hemocompatibility and anticoagulant effect of the PCL-Hep MSs were investigated for heparin loading and release study, coagulation tests, hemolysis assay, morphological changes of red blood cells, complement activation, and cytotoxicity experiments. The results showed that the PCL-Hep MSs are hemocompatible with low level of cytotoxicity. Moreover, they have the potential to be used as a mild anticoagulant compared to pure heparin.