Method of forming hydrogel particles having a controlled size using liposomes
AssigneeGeorgetown University
InventorsMariam Monshipouri, Alan S. Rudolph
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of fabricating hydrogel particles within liposomes, which entails: a) encapsulating an effective amount of each of one or more hydrogel substances and one or more release agents in liposomes in a liquid medium, b) removing any unencapsulated hydrogel substances and release agents from the liquid medium, c) adding initiator to the liquid medium and into the liposomes, thereby initiating reaction of the one or more hydrogel substances, whereby hydrogel particles are formed in the liposomes, and d) removing any extra-liposomal initiator from the medium.
Claims10
Hydrogel particles having a size of from about 0.05 .mu.m to 3.0 .mu.m, which are produced by a process, which comprises:
- a) encapsulating one or more hydrogel-forming substances in liposomes in a liquid medium, said hydrogel-forming substances being selected from the group consisting of sodium alginate, chitosan and K-carrageenan;
- b) removing any unencapsulated hydrogel-forming substances from the liquid medium by centrifugation, filtration or column chromatography;
- c) adding calcium ions, as an initiator, to the liquid medium, thereby initiating cross-linking of the hydrogel-forming substances;
- and
- d) removing any extra calcium ions from the liquid medium by centrifugation, filtration or column chromatograph.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.