2023 AIChE Annual Meeting
Influence of Emulsion Properties on Poly(caprolactone) Microparticle Size
The role of polymer science in drug delivery is increasing in significance. Biodegradable, biocompatible polymers, polymeric micro- and nano- particles are promising advancements in targeted drug delivery. Poly(caprolactone) (PCL) has largely been successful in implantable devices and as tissue engineering scaffolds, due to its high biocompatibility and slow degradation time relative to other polymers. We hypothesize that these same properties make PCL a promising candidate for nano- and micro-particle drug delivery. Administration through the bloodstream, such as in tumoral drug delivery require nanoparticles below 300 nm whereas administration through the nose, such as lung disease treatment utilizes particles in the 1â5 um size range. In this work, we outline 16 unique preparation conditions for PCL particles to produce a range of particle sizes for each target application. An emulsion solvent evaporation method was used with varied solvent choice, polymer mass, polymer concentration, surfactant concentration and external water volume to synthesize particles between 300 nm and 1.7 micrometers. The particles were measured for size using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ImageJ. Particles were evaluated for cytotoxicity in HEK293, A549, and Ishikawa cell lines. We were able to determine that the particles met the size requirements for a range of healthcare applications and were not detrimental to cell viability at low concentrations.