Development of microparticles prepared by spray-drying as a vaccine delivery system against brucellosis

The antigenic extract Hot Saline from Brucella ovis was microencapsulated by the spray-drying technique with different polyesters (poly-lactide-co-glycolide RG502H [PLGA], and blends with poly-F-caprolactone [PEC]) in order to obtain microparticles smaller than 5 mum. Microparticles were tested for encapsulation efficiency, release studies, acidification of the in vitro release medium, and in vitro J744-macrophage experiments (phagocytosis and toxicity of the preparations) to determine the optimal formulation for vaccination purposes. Formulation containing no PCL showed the highest encapsulation efficiency, although the differences were not significant. The in vitro release kinetics were characterized by a high burst effect after 1 h of incubation, followed by a slow and continuos release. For the formulation based on PLGA, the pH of the medium during release dropped from 7.4 to 3.5 while the presence of PEC attenuated the pH drop. All formulations showed light toxicity by the MTT assay, but differences were observed in terms of phagocytosis, as particles prepared with PEC showed the higher uptake by J744-macrophages and cell respiratory burst, determined by oxygen peroxide release. All these characteristics suggest that the microparticulated antigenic formulation containing the higher ratio of PEC is susceptible to be used in animal vaccination studies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.