Biocompatible hybrid particles of poly(l-lactic acid)@silica

Silica and poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) are each a biocompatible polymer with many proven bio-applications. We describe a new hybrid made of these components in the form of submicron particles. The particles are prepared by entrapping PLLA in a forming sol–gel particle in an emulsion, the droplets of which are the micro-reactors in which the particles form. The dispersed phase is a hydrophobic solution of PLLA in tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and chloroform and the dispersing phase is a water–ethanol solution of Triton X-100 at a basic pH, which acts also as the catalyst for the on-setting the sol–gel processes. The polyester@silica particles were fully characterized by scanning electron microscopies, by thermal gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and by ζ potential measurements. Another aspect of this report relates to the ability to dope these hybrid particles with a functional dopant, which is then used to follow up their degradation in acidic solution.