Effect of surfactants and polymer composition on the characteristics of polyhydroxyalkanoate nanoparticles

Dorokhin, A., Lipaikin, S., Ryltseva, G., (...), Kachin, S., Shishatskaya, E.// Admet and Dmpk

Background and purpose
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable polyesters of bacterial origin that are actively studied as matrices for the preparation of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems. The most significant parameters affecting PHAs nanoparticles (NPs) characteristics are polymer composition and the type of surfactant used to stabilize the emulsion during NPs preparation. However, there are only a few studies in the literature investigating the effect of these factors on the characteristics of PHA NPs.
Experimental approach
Blank poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (P3HBV) NPs were produced and characterized in terms of their size, morphology and zeta potential. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with various molecular weights (31-50 and 85-124 kDa), as well as Tween 20 (TW20), Tween 80 (TW80), sodium deoxycholate (SDC) and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) were used as surfactants. For NPs that formed stable aqueous suspensions and had the most desirable characteristics (P3HB/PVA31-50 and P3HBV/PVA31-50), hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity to HeLa and C2C12 cells in vitro were determined.