Ceftiofur-loaded PHBV microparticles: A potential formulation for a long-acting antibiotic to treat animal infections

background: the infectious diseases in the livestock breeding industry represent a significant drawback that generates substantial economic loss and have led to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. the formulation of polymeric microparticles loaded with antibiotics for veterinary use can: reduce the number of required doses; protect the drug from inactivation; and maintain a sustained-release of the antibiotic drug at effective levels. accomplishing all of these goals would have a significant economic and animal health impact on the livestock breeding industry. results: in this work, we formulated ceftiofur-loaded phbv microparticles (phbv-cef) with a spherical shape, a smooth surface and diameter sizes between 1.65 and 2.37 μm. the encapsulation efficiency was 39.5 ± 1.1% w/w, and we obtained a sustained release of ceftiofur in pbs-buffer (ph 7.4) over 7 days. the antibacterial activity of ceftiofur was preserved after the encapsulation procedure, and toxicity of phbv-cef microparticles evaluated by mts was represented by an ic50 > 10 mg/ml. conclusions: our results suggest that phbv-cef particles have a potential application for improving the treatment of infectious diseases in the livestock breeding industry.