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Updated: May 25, 2026
Extraction of Plant-based Capsules for Microencapsulation Applications
Published on: November 9, 2016
Application of acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of dispersed organic solvent in developing new microencapsulation process
Honghwa Lee1, Sunhwa Lee, Himanshu Bhattacharjee
1College of Pharmacy, Ewha Womans University, 11-1 Daehyun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, Korea.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to evaluate a new microencapsulation technology employing an acid-catalyzed solvent extraction method in conjunction to an emulsion-based microencapsulation process. Its process consisted of emulsifying a dispersed phase of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) and isopropyl formate in an aqueous phase. This step was followed by adding hydrochloric acid to the resulting oil-in-water emulsion, in order to initiate the hydrolysis of isopropyl formate dissolved in the aqueous phase. Its hydrolysis caused the liberation of water-soluble species, that is, isopropanol and formic acid. This event triggered continual solvent leaching out of emulsion droplets, thereby initiating microsphere solidification. This new processing worked well for encapsulation of progesterone and ketoprofen that were chosen as a nonionizable model drug and a weakly acidic one, respectively. Furthermore, the structural integrity of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) was retained during microencapsulation. The new microencapsulation technology, being conceptually different from previous approaches, might be useful in preparing various polymeric particles.
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