Drug Delivery Carrier Compound (PLA)

About This Product

This grade is a medical grade polylactic acid compound supplied as a pellet compound for drug delivery carriers. PLA is an aliphatic polyester made by ring-opening polymerisation of lactide; it is a rigid thermoplastic that hydrolyses in aqueous media back to lactic acid, and its molecular weight and crystallinity are fixed during polymerisation. PLA is widely used as a carrier for controlled release: the polymer matrix degrades at a rate set by its molecular weight and morphology, releasing the active over a defined period rather than all at once. Degradation runs by bulk hydrolysis, so chain scission proceeds throughout the carrier rather than only at its face, and mass is lost only once the fragments are short enough to dissolve. Crystalline regions exclude water and erode last, so a higher molecular weight, more crystalline grade lengthens the window and a more amorphous one shortens it, diffusion through the intact matrix carrying the early release and erosion the later. This is supplied as a medical grade raw material. Release profile is a formulation property developed by the pharmaceutical manufacturer against the active and the intended dosing. Pharmaceutical manufacture requires the manufacturer's own regulatory approvals and quality system. We supply the material; we do not supply pharmaceutical products and make no clinical or therapeutic claim. It is used in controlled release carriers, pharmaceutical manufacture and drug delivery systems. Bio Green Chem supplies the medical grade PLA carrier compound to specification on molecular weight, residual monomer, moisture content and pellet form.