Polyester-Based Nanoparticles for the Encapsulation of Monoclonal Antibodies

Aliphatic polyesters have been widely explored for biomedical applications (e.g., drug delivery systems, biomedical devices, and tissue engineering). Recently, polyesters have been used in nanoparticle formulations for the controlled release of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for the enhanced efficacy of antibody-based therapy. Polyester-based nanoparticles for mAb delivery provide decreased antibody dosage, increased antibody stability and protection and longer therapeutic action, ultimately translating to an increased therapeutic index. Additionally, nanoencapsulation holds the potential for the selective cellular recognition and internalization of mAbs, in the disease context when intracellular organelles and molecules (e.g., enzymes, transcription factors and oncogenic proteins) are the preferred target. We present here a detailed method to prepare mAb-loaded polyester-based nanoparticles and the various techniques to characterize the resulting nanoparticles and mAb structure. Finally, we highlight different biological approaches to assess the in vitro bioactivity of the antibody upon nanoparticle release.