Preparation and characterization of lung-targeting cefquinome-loaded PLGA microspheres

We developed poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) microspheres loaded with cefquinome and tested their effectiveness in a mouse model. The microspheres were prepared by optimizing several key parameters such as PLGA molecular weight, drug/polymer ratio, internal water volume and ethyl acetate. Drug loading efficiency, stability, in vitro release and tissue distribution in mouse were evaluated. The average particle size of the microspheres was 27.84 μm. The drug loading efficiency was 64.57%. The in vitro release of cefquinome from microspheres after 4 h was about 40% compared with over 90% for the drug alone. The concentration of cefquinome in lung reached 25 μg/g 0.25 h after injection, and kept at 10 μg/g 4 h after injection. However, the concentration of cefquinome was very low in other organs even 0.25 h after injection. In conclusion, Cefquinome-loaded PLGA microspheres are compatible as an effective lung-targeting drug delivery system and have a good sustained release efficacy.