In recent years, biodegradable nanoparticles have gained increased interest in their application as drug delivery vehicles due to their improved ability to be cleared from the body after administration. Within this group, polyesters are a popular choice after validation in a range of clinical applications. For example, lactide-based polymers have been commonly used as tissue scaffolding, and used as the hydrophobic blocks within poly(ethylene glycol)-PLA drug delivery copolymers. Although poly(lactide) nanoparticles have been widely researched, other polyester candidates, such as poly(caprolactone), are available with similar properties but without the same depth of study. Here, we have utilised co-nanoprecipitation with a range of linear and branched homo- and co-polymers of ε-caprolactone, synthesised by acid-catalysed ring opening polymerisation. The effects of architecture and the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance of the amphiphilic AB block co-polymers on the colloidal stability of the particles, has been investigated in detail. The branched architecture considerably reduced the size of the resulting nanoparticles in comparison to experiments using linear analogues. Additionally, the role of architecture and higher molecular weight in the nucleation process was further highlighted with increased stability of particles seen. Further investigations were also conducted with both mixed solvent systems and guest encapsulation being examined, allowing a deep understanding of branched poly(caprolactone) co-nanoprecipitation.

Effects of architecture on the co-nanoprecipitation of branched polyesters

256th National Meeting (2018)

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