FORMATION OF POROUS MEMBRANES FOR DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Highly crystalline porous hollow poly (L-lactide) (PLLA) fibres suitable for the delivery of various drugs were obtained using a dry-wet spinning process. The pore structure of the fibres could be regulated by changing the spinning systems and spinning conditions. Using the spinning system PLLA-dioxane-water, fibres with a dense toplayer and a spongy sublayer were obtained. The spinning system PLLA-chloroform/toluene-methanol yielded fibres with a very open porous structure. The membrane formation of the former system probably occurs by liquid-liquid demixing followed by crystallization of the polymer rich phase. In the membrane formation process of the spinning system, PLLA-chloroform/toluene-methanol crystallization probably plays a dominant role. The membrane formation process will be related to basic principles of phase separation. The fibres are suitable for the long term zero order delivery of the contraceptive 3-ketodesogestrel and the short term zero order delivery of the cytostatic agent, cisplatin. The drugs are released by dissolution of the drug crystals in the fibre core followed by diffusion through the membrane structure. Short term release of adriamycin could be obtained through an adsorption-desorption mechanism. The pore structures of the fibres have a large influence on the release rates of the drugs investigated. When fibres with dense toplayers were used. low release rates of drugs were observed whereas fibres with well interconnected pore structures over the fibre wall showed very high release rates.