Large-Scale Preparation of Polymer Nanocarriers by High-Pressure Microfluidization

Abstract

Polymer nanocarriers are used as transport modules in the design of the next generation of drug delivery technology. However, the applicability of nanocarrier-based technology depends strongly on our ability to precisely control and reproduce their synthesis on a large scale because their properties and performances are strongly dependent on their size and shape. Fundamental studies and practical applications of polymer nanocarriers are hampered by the difficulty of using the current methods to produce monodispersed nanocarriers in large quantities and with high reproducibility. Here, a versatile and scalable approach is reported for the large-scale synthesis of polymer nanocarriers from water-in-oil miniemulsions. This method uses microfluidization to perform a controlled emulsification and is proven to be effective to prepare nanocarriers of different biopolymers (polysaccharides, lignin, proteins) up to 43 g min−1 with reproducible size and distribution.