Use of microreactors and freeze-drying in the manufacturing process of chitosan coated PCL nanoparticles

ZELENKOVÁ, TEREZA; ONNAINTY, RENÉE; GRANERO, GLADYS ESTER; BARRESI, ANTONELLO A.; FISSORE, DAVIDE

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2018 vol. 119 p. 135 - 135

0928-0987

his paper is focused on the synthesis of chitosan-coated polycaprolactone nanoparticles inmicroreactors and on the freeze-drying of the nanosuspension, to separate the particles fromthe liquid phase. Nanoparticles were produced in the confined impinging jets mixer (CIJM)and in the multi-inlet vortex mixer (MIVM), using the solvent displacement method, withacetone or tert-butanol (TBA) as polymer solvent. The study was initially carried outconsidering a feed flow rate of 80 ml/min: using acetone, the mean particle size was lower(163±7 nm) and the Zeta potential was higher (31.4±37 mV) with the MIVM, with respect tothe CIJM (265±31 nm and 9.8±2.4 mV, respectively). Slightly larger particles were obtainedusing TBA in the MIVM (mean diameter: 221±44 nm): in this case it is no longer requiredremoving the solvent before the freeze-drying stage. The effect of the liquid flow rate wasthen investigated, confirming that the best results were obtained at 80 ml min-1. With respectto the freeze-dr