In vitro efficiency test of captopril microencapsulation using polyblend of poly (lactic acid) and polycaprolactone

Captopril is an active oral inhibitor of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) which has been widely used for hypertension and congestive heart failure treatment. Captopril has a short biological half-life and low bioavailability, so the drug must be taken repeatedly to obtain the expected therapeutic effect. Drug microencapsulation using biodegradable polymers is an alternative to minimalize these deficiencies. In this study, polyblend polylactic acid and polycaprolactone were used as a material that would encapsulate captopril. Microcapsules were made by the method of evaporating oil solvents in water using a tween 80 solution as an emulsifier. Variation of emulsion stirring speed and stirring time of dispersion. Both variations not positively affecting the increase of drug encapsulation.. The blend of PLA and PCL is formed only by physical interaction between them. This can be seen from the FTIR spectrum which shows both PLA and PCL component. The optimum condition for microencapsulation was 60 PLA: 40 PCL with a concentration of tween 80 0.5% (state of dispersion of 900 rpm for 1 hour and the state of emulsion of 700 rpm for 1 hour) with an optimal encapsulation efficiency of 90.63%. The speed of emulsion mixing and the time of dispersion mixing did not significantly influence the efficiency of captopril microcapsule encapsulation.