On May 14, 2025, the Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Commission officially approved the successful completion of the technical innovation project “Key Technology Research and Development of Biodegradable PLA-PCL Microspheres,” led by eSUNMed in collaboration with Shenzhen Polytechnic University.
Traditional personal care and cosmetic products contain large amounts of plastic microbeads, which are one of the major sources of microplastics in marine and other aquatic environments. Due to their small particle size and rapid dispersion, marine microplastics pose a serious threat to biodiversity in marine ecosystems and to human health through the food chain.
Image: Plastic microbeads in personal care and cosmetic products
In this project, eSUNMed and Shenzhen Polytechnic University successfully developed universally applicable, monodisperse, and porous PLA/PCL microspheres with controllable particle sizes. By regulating the porous structure of the microspheres, the biodegradable PLA/PCL microspheres demonstrated excellent capacity for loading bioactive materials. Furthermore, when blended with polyhydroxyalkanoate solutions, the resulting biodegradable PLA/PCL microspheres exhibited outstanding seawater degradation performance. According to relevant data, after 180 days of seawater degradation testing, the biodegradation rate reached 91.71%.
Image: SEM images of four types of monodisperse polymer microspheres of different sizes prepared via microfluidic method
During the project period, eSUNMed and Shenzhen Polytechnic University jointly achieved numerous technological innovations and filed a total of 12 patents, including 10 Chinese invention patents and 2 utility model patents.
The preparation of biodegradable polyester materials into microspheres shows great potential for development in the daily chemical industry, including applications in beauty and skincare products, oral care products, microcapsules, and household chemical products (as suspending and stabilizing agents). The microspheres also have significant application prospects in the field of medical aesthetic injection fillers. Additionally, biodegradable polyester materials can be widely applied in other biomedical fields, such as orthopedic/sports medicine repair devices, cardiovascular interventional therapy, drug delivery, medical aesthetics, neurosurgery, plastic and maxillofacial surgery, otolaryngology, oncology treatment, and regenerative medicine.
In the biomedical field, eSUNMed has continuously made key breakthroughs in related product research and development, production, and applications.