A modified oil-in-water emulsion process was developed to produce novel microporous hemi-spherical polycaprolactone (PCL) microparticles called “hemi-shells”. Through the addition of a porogen such as sodium bicarbonate into the PCL-dichloromethane oil phase and emulsification in an acidic polyvinyl alcohol aqueous phase, microporous hemi-shells formed as dichloromethane evaporated. Carbon dioxide gas evolution from the porogen reaction with the acidic aqueous phase created particles with an externally microporous shell and a large internal cavity. The hemi-shells were characterized by various methods, including scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy which were specifically used to quantify the hemi-shell yield. The final number-average particle yield of the optimised manufacturing method for particle manufacture in the 50-200 micron size range was 84%. The number-average hemi-shell yield in the same size range was 41%. These novel microparticles have potential applications in tissue engineering and drug delivery / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/26216 |
| Date | 11 July 2011 |
| Creators | Naidoo, Kersch |
| Contributors | Dr H Rolfes, knaidoo3@csir.co.za |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Rights | © 2010, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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