Preparation and biocompatibility of alginate/poly(L-arginine) microcapsules

A novel drug carrier based on alginate and poly-L-arginine was fabricated. The alginate/poly(L-arginine) microcapsules with good sphericity, smooth surface and well-proportioned particle size were prepared by the high voltage electrostatic method. According to the standard for the biological evaluation of medical devices, the biocompatibility of alginate/poly(L-arginine) microcapsules was studied. The cytotoxicity studies show that the alginate/poly(L-arginine) microcapsules have no significant growth inhibition effect on L929 cells when they were used at 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 mg/mL. The extract productions of the alginate/poly(L-arginine) microcapsules do not show cytotoxic effect even at 10.0 mg/mL. The alginate/poly(L-arginine) microcapsules have no acute systemic toxicity and no hemolytic reaction. All results indicate that the alginate/poly(L-arginine) microcapsules, prepared by the high voltage electrostatic method, have acceptable biocompatibility and might be an appropriate candidate for macromolecule drug delivery, and it is worthy of a further research.