PLGA Microcarrier Production Protocol

The production of the microcarriers was extensively described in Muoio et al. [19 (link)]. Briefly, the manufacturing process relies on a double emulsion solvent evaporation technique where the most critical components for the manufacture are 17 KDa Poly(D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) (lactide/glycolide ratio 50:50), Purasorb PDLG 5002 purchased from Corbion Purac (Amsterdam, Netherlands). Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA, 87–89% hydrolyzed, Mw 31 KDa) and methylene chloride from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). Finally, porcine gelatin, a generous gift from Italgelatine (Santa Vittoria d’Alba, Italy), and ammonium hydrogen carbonate from Applichem (Darmstadt, Germany).