Preparation and characterization of protein-loaded poly(epsilon-caprolactone) microparticles for oral vaccine delivery

This paper describes the conditions of preparation of poly(epsilon-caprolac tone) (PCL) microparticles with a mean size between 5 and 10 mu m, obtained by a double emulsion-solvent evaporation technique, suitable for oral vacc ine delivery. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as water-soluble model an tigen for encapsulation. Different parameters influencing the microparticle size, the BSA loading and entrapment efficiency were investigated. Spheric al, smooth and homogeneously distributed microparticles were produced with a BSA loading and entrapment efficiency reaching, respectively, 5% (w/w) an d 30%. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and isoelectric focusing ( IEF) analyses of BSA released from these particles confirmed that the entra pped protein seemed to remain unaltered by the protein encapsulation proces s. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.