Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater 2017 Aug;105(6):1692-16

Polymer degradation and drug delivery in PLGA-based drug-polymer applications: a review of experiments and theories.

Xu Y, Kim CS, Saylor DM, Koo D

Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) copolymers have been broadly used in controlled drug release applications. Because these polymers are biodegradable, they provide an attractive option for drug delivery vehicles. There are a variety of material, processing, and physiological factors that impact the degradation rates of PLGA polymers and concurrent drug release kinetics. This work is intended to provide a comprehensive and collective review of the physicochemical and physiological factors that dictate the degradation behavior of PLGA polymers and drug release from contemporary PLGA-based drug-polymer products. In conjunction with the existing experimental results, analytical and numerical theories developed to predict drug release from PLGA-based polymers are summarized and correlated with the experimental observations.