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Semi-Automated Nanoprecipitation-System—An Option for Operator Independent, Scalable and Size Adjustable Nanoparticle Synthesis

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Abstract

The preparation of nano-sized carrier systems increasingly moved into focus of pharmaceutical research and industry in the past decades. Besides the drug load and properties of the selected polymer/lipid, the size of such particles is one of the most important parameters regarding their use as efficient drug delivery systems. However, the preparation of nanoparticles with different sizes in a controlled manner is challenging, especially in terms of reproducibility and scale-up possibility. To overcome these hurdles we developed a system relying on nanoprecipitation, which meets all these requirements of an operator independent, scalable and size-adjustable nanoparticle synthesis—the Semi-Automated Nanoprecipitation-System. This system enables the adaption of the particle size to specific needs based on the process parameters—injection rate, flow rate and polymer concentration—identified within this study. The basic set-up is composed of a syringe pump and a gear pump for a precise control of the flow and injection speed of the system. Furthermore, a home-made tube-straightener guarantees a curvature-free injection point. Thus it could be shown that the production of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles from 150 to 600 nm with a narrow size distribution in a controlled semi-automatic manner is possible.

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Abbreviations

DLS:

Dynamic light scattering

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

FR:

Flow rate

IP:

Injection position

IR:

Injection rate

PDI:

Polydispersity index

PLGA:

Poly(lactide-co-glycolide)

PVA:

Polyvinyl alcohol

SAN-System:

Semi-Automated Nanoprecipitation-System

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND DISCLOSURES

This work was supported by grants from the BMBF (funding code: 13N11454) in PeTrA project “Plattform für effizienten epithelialen Transport für pharmazeutische Applikationen durch innovative partikuläre Trägersysteme”. Dr. Chiara De Rossi is thanked for technical assistance with preparing the SEM images.

René Rietscher and Carolin Thum contributed equally to this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Department of Drug Delivery (DDEL), Saarland University, Building A4.1, 66123, Saarbruecken, Germany

    René Rietscher & Claus-Michael Lehr

  2. Institute for Pharmaceutics and Biopharmacy, Philipps University Marburg, Ketzerbach 63, 35037, Marburg, Germany

    Carolin Thum & Marc Schneider

  3. Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmacy, Saarland University, Building A4.1, 66123, Saarbruecken, Germany

    Claus-Michael Lehr

Authors
  1. René Rietscher
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  2. Carolin Thum
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  3. Claus-Michael Lehr
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  4. Marc Schneider
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Correspondence to Marc Schneider.

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Rietscher, R., Thum, C., Lehr, CM. et al. Semi-Automated Nanoprecipitation-System—An Option for Operator Independent, Scalable and Size Adjustable Nanoparticle Synthesis. Pharm Res 32, 1859–1863 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-014-1612-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-014-1612-z

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