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Abstract
Polylactide was polymerized from dilactide under various conditions to yield polymers
in the molecular weight range from 11,000 to 21,000 as determined by osmometry. Chlorpromazine
was encapsulated by the polylactide polymers by using an emulsification-solvent evaporation
method. Microscopic observation revealed that when drug loading was less than or equal
to 18%, the drug was in the form of a solid solution in microspheres of polylactide.
At higher drug loadings, crystalline drug was present. In vitro dissolution of the
encapsulated drug was followed in hydroalcoholic and aqueous buffer media. Studies
with the hydroalcoholic media revealed that the drug release rate decreased as microcapsule
size increased. However, dissolution in the hydroalcoholic media did not reflect the
effect of molecular weight or percentage loading observed in the aqueous system. Dissolution
in aqueous buffer showed that t50% increased with molecular weight and that release
rates-surface area increased with increasing drug loading.