On-chip synthesis of hyaluronic acid-based nanoparticles for selective inhibition of CD44+ human mesenchymal stem cell proliferation

Abstract

In this study, an innovative microfluidics-based method was developed for one-step synthesis of hyaluronic acid (HA)-based nanoparticles (NPs), by exploiting polyelectrolytic interactions between HA and chitosan (CS), in order to improve reliability, reproducibility and possible scale-up of the NPs preparation. The on-chip synthesis, using a staggered herringbone micromixer, allowed to produce HA/CS NPs with tailored-made size and suitable for both parenteral (117.50 - 4.51 nm) and loco-regional (349.15 - 38.09 nm) administration, mainly composed by HA (more than 85% wt) with high negative surface charge (