Formulation of tunable size PLGA-PEG nanoparticles for drug delivery using microfluidic technology

PLoS One. 2021 Jun 18;16(6):e0251821. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251821. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Amphiphilic block co-polymer nanoparticles are interesting candidates for drug delivery as a result of their unique properties such as the size, modularity, biocompatibility and drug loading capacity. They can be rapidly formulated in a nanoprecipitation process based on self-assembly, resulting in kinetically locked nanostructures. The control over this step allows us to obtain nanoparticles with tailor-made properties without modification of the co-polymer building blocks. Furthermore, a reproducible and controlled formulation supports better predictability of a batch effectiveness in preclinical tests. Herein, we compared the formulation of PLGA-PEG nanoparticles using the typical manual bulk mixing and a microfluidic chip-assisted nanoprecipitation. The particle size tunability and controllability in a hydrodynamic flow focusing device was demonstrated to be greater than in the manual dropwise addition method. We also analyzed particle size and encapsulation of fluorescent compounds, using the common bulk analysis and advanced microscopy techniques: Transmission Electron Microscopy and Total Internal Reflection Microscopy, to reveal the heterogeneities occurred in the formulated nanoparticles. Finally, we performed in vitro evaluation of obtained NPs using MCF-7 cell line. Our results show how the microfluidic formulation improves the fine control over the resulting nanoparticles, without compromising any appealing property of PLGA nanoparticle. The combination of microfluidic formulation with advanced analysis methods, looking at the single particle level, can improve the understanding of the NP properties, heterogeneities and performance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Drug Carriers / chemistry*
  • Drug Delivery Systems*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Microfluidics / methods*
  • Nanoparticles / administration & dosage*
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Polyesters / chemistry*
  • Polyethylene Glycols / chemistry*
  • Polymers / chemistry*

Substances

  • Drug Carriers
  • Polyesters
  • Polymers
  • polyethylene glycol-poly(lactide-co-glycolide)
  • Polyethylene Glycols

Grants and funding

LA and SP thank the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-109450RB-I00/AEI /10.13039/501100011033) and the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA program and 2017 SGR 01536. The authors also acknowledge the the foundation Obra Social La Caixa (ID 100010434) and the European Research Council (ERC- StG-757397). JSM has support from the CERCA Programme and by the Commission for Universities and Research of the Department of Innovation, Universities, and Enterprise of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2017 SGR 1079). This work was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the projects MINDS (Proyectos I+D Excelencia + FEDER): TEC2015-70104-P, BIOBOT (Programa Explora Ciencia / Tecnología): TEC2015- 72718-EXP and EuUONANOMED II PCIN-2016-025. The project that gave rise to these results received the support of a fellowship from “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 1000010434). The fellowship code of AGM is LCF/BQ/DI17/11620054. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 713673.