Engineering Lymphatic Transport of Nanoparticles through Emulsion Polymerization

A library of lymphatic-targeting poly(propylene sulfide) nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized with copolymers of different properties at various concentrations was created. The effects of copolymer type and concentration on NP properties were explored, along with the transport behaviors of the NP formulations using in vitro assays that modeled diffusion through the skin interstitium and permeability across and uptake into lymphatic endothelial cells that predicted their in vivo lymphatic transport and uptake. By tuning the properties of the copolymer surfactants used during NP synthesis, both the NP characteristics and transport properties could be controlled, enabling the design of lymphatic-targeting drug delivery vehicles and imaging agents with varying behaviors.