PLGA Nanoparticles for the Sustained Release of Rifampicin

Abstract

Although tuberculosis is often regarded as a disease of the past, it is still one of the leading killers of adults and children worldwide. Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, a bacterium that mostly infects the lungs but can also infect the spleen, brain, kidneys, and other organs throughout the body.  While effective drug therapy is available for the treatment of tuberculosis, many patients discontinue treatment due to its harsh side-effects. One goal of treatment is to create a biocompatible, biodegradable drug delivery system that employs the use of multiple drugs while simultaneously relieving the patient of the burden of self-medicating. Poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanospheres possess unique characteristics that allow tunable degradation times and biocompatibility.  For this study, a procedure for making PLGA nanospheres and loading them with Rifampicin was optimized using various solvents and stabilizers.  These nanospheres were further investigated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine whether there was a change in material properties after processing.