Tunable Release of Curcumin with an In Silico-Supported Approach from Mixtures of Highly Porous PLGA Microparticles

In recent years, drug delivery systems have become some of the main topics within the biomedical field. In this scenario, polymeric microparticles (MPs) are often used as carriers to improve drug stability and drug pharmacokinetics in agreement with this kind of treatment. To avoid a mere and time-consuming empirical approach for the optimization of the pharmacokinetics of an MP-based formulation, here, we propose a simple predictive in silico-supported approach. As an example, in this study, we report the ability to predict and tune the release of curcumin (CUR), used as a model drug, from a designed combination of different poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) MPs kinds. In detail, all CUR-PLGA MPs were synthesized by double emulsion technique and their chemical-physical properties were characterized by Mastersizer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, for all the MPs, CUR encapsulation efficiency and kinetic release were investigated through the UV-vis spectroscopy. This approach, based on the combination of in silico and experimental methods, could be a promising platform in several biomedical applications such as vaccinations, cancer-treatment, diabetes therapy and so on.