Preparation of medium-chain-length poly-3-hydroxyalkanoates – based polymeric nanoparticle through phase inversion emulsification and its apparent formation mechanism / Khairul Anwar Ishak

摘要

Development of biodegradable polymeric nanoparticle for active compoundsuddelivery into human body has gained a widespread interest in nutraceutical andudpharmaceutical industries. It is frequently used as active compounds delivery vehicleuddue to its better encapsulation capability and controlled release, compoundudbioavailability improvement as well as non-toxic properties. However, commonudmethods for polymeric nanoparticle production involve the application ofudpolymerizing/crosslinking initiator and organic solvent, which are usually toxic andudpose removal, disposal and recycling issues in the scaling up of polymeric nanoparticleudproduction. This study demonstrated for the first time, a greener alternative for theudproduction of polymeric nanoparticle by using medium-chain-length poly-3-udhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHA) as part of component materials through phase inversionudemulsification (PIE) method. It is a facile route to obtain polymeric nanoparticlesudwhereby mcl-PHA serves as the integral component in the construction of protectiveudencapsulating matrix in the nanoparticle. Emulsification process of mcl-PHAincorporatedudemulsion system involved the formation of bi-continuous or lamellarudstructure phase at emulsion inversion point (EIP) before dispersion of oil phase intoudnanometer-sized particles. However, incorporating mcl-PHA into the emulsion systemudat inappropriate molecular weight and amount would lead to an alternative phaseudinversion mechanism that involved the formation of multiple emulsions resulting inudmicrometer-sized particles with wider distribution. Temperature also showed anudinteraction effect with mcl-PHA molecular weight towards the formation of bicontinuous/udlamellar structure phase. Apparent formation mechanism for mcl-PHAincorporatedudnanoparticle is proposed based on the experimental findings.