Hydrogen peroxide filled poly(methyl methacrylate) microcapsules: potential oxygen delivery materials

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Controlled oxygen delivery is crucial for various medical applications.
• Microencapsulation offers a method for stabilizing and controlling the release of active agents.
• Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a versatile polymer for microcapsule fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize H₂O₂-H₂O filled PMMA microcapsules.
• To evaluate the effect of process parameters on microcapsule properties.
• To assess the in vitro oxygen release performance and shelf-life of the microcapsules.

Main Methods:

• Water-in-oil solvent emulsion and evaporation technique for microcapsule synthesis.
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for size and morphology analysis.
• In vitro release studies to quantify H₂O₂ release over time.
• Shelf-life studies under refrigerated conditions (2-8 °C).

Main Results:

• Synthesized PMMA microcapsules with sizes ranging from 5 to 30 μm and narrow size distribution.
• Observed internal morphology with entrapped H₂O₂-H₂O droplets within the PMMA matrix.
• Achieved approximately 70% H₂O₂ release within 24 hours, yielding ~12 cc O₂/gram of microcapsules.
• Demonstrated excellent shelf-life, retaining ~84% of loaded H₂O₂ after nine months at 2-8 °C.

Conclusions:

• PMMA microcapsules effectively encapsulate H₂O₂-H₂O for controlled oxygen delivery.
• The developed microcapsules exhibit favorable in vitro release kinetics and remarkable storage stability.
• These findings highlight the potential of H₂O₂-H₂O loaded PMMA microcapsules for clinical applications requiring sustained oxygen release.