Fabrication of hollow porous PLGA microspheres for controlled protein release and promotion of cell compatibility

This letter reports on the fabrication of hollow, porous and non-porous poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres (MSs) for the controlled release of protein and promotion of cell compatibility of tough hydrogels. PLGA MSs with different structures were prepared with modified double emulsion methods, using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a porogen during emulsification. The release of the residual BSA from PLGA MSs was investigated as a function of the MS structure. The hollow PLGA MSs show a faster protein release than the porous MSs, while the non-porous MSs have the slowest protein release. Compositing the PLGA MSs with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels promoted chondrocyte adhesion and proliferation on the hydrogels.