Purification of Drug Loaded PLGA Nanoparticles Prepared by Emulsification Solvent Evaporation Using Stirred Cell...

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Emulsification solvent evaporation is common for preparing drug-loaded polymeric nanoparticles.
• High levels of toxic emulsifiers (surfactants) are often required, posing risks for parenteral administration.
• Conventional purification methods for removing these surfactants are cumbersome and inefficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of solvent-resistant stirred cell ultrafiltration for removing toxic surfactants from polymeric nanoparticles.
• To compare ultrafiltration with conventional centrifugation for nanoparticle purification.
• To optimize ultrafiltration parameters for efficient surfactant removal.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a solvent-resistant stirred cell ultrafiltration unit with a polyethersulfone membrane (300 KDa NMWL).
• Prepared tamoxifen-loaded polymeric nanoparticles using the emulsification solvent evaporation method.
• Compared the purification efficiency of ultrafiltration against conventional centrifugation.

Main Results:

• Optimized ultrafiltration flow rate achieved acceptable levels of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) surfactant impurities within 1-3.5 hours.
• Ultrafiltration successfully removed toxic PVA impurities from tamoxifen nanoparticle dispersions.
• The technique yielded more concentrated nanoparticle dispersions without significant particle size increase.

Conclusions:

• Solvent-resistant stirred cell ultrafiltration is a viable technique for removing toxic surfactant impurities from polymeric drug nanoparticles.
• This method offers advantages over centrifugation and ultracentrifugation, including faster processing and higher product concentration.
• Ultrafiltration provides an efficient and effective purification strategy for nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems.