Purpose

The particle shape is a key factor influencing drug loading, drug release, cellular interaction, cell uptake, and in vivo distribution of micro- and nanoparticles. The purpose of the study was to develop a preliminary proof of concept about the fabrication of non-spherical particles from spherical nanoparticles by simple film stretching method.

Methods

The spherical Eudragit® S100 NPs was optimised with various parameters including, the concentration of the polymer, concentration of the surfactants, organic-aqueous phase ratio, and the speed of homogenization. Then, spherical NP-embedded polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films were stretched to produce non-spherical particles. Finally, the resulting particle size and surface morphology of non-spherical Eudragit® S100 particles were analysed.

Results

Dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have been utilised to analyse the size and morphology of particles, before and after film stretching. The resulting spherical NPs (< 150 nm) were successfully converted into monodispersed non-spherical, rod-like particles (< 500 nm) with precise shape control.

Conclusion

The present study provided a simple and economic method for developing non-spherical Eudragit® S100 polymeric particles. These particles could be used as promising colon-specific drug delivery or diagnostic system.

中文翻译：

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非球形聚合物颗粒的制备与表征

目的

颗粒形状是影响药物负载，药物释放，细胞相互作用，细胞摄取以及微粒和纳米颗粒在体内分布的关键因素。该研究的目的是为通过简单的薄膜拉伸方法从球形纳米颗粒制备非球形颗粒提供初步的概念证明。

方法

使用各种参数对球形Eudragit®S100 NP进行了优化，包括聚合物的浓度，表面活性剂的浓度，有机-水相的比率以及均化的速度。然后，将球形NP嵌入聚乙烯醇（PVA）薄膜拉伸以生产非球形颗粒。最后，分析了非球形Eudragit®S100颗粒的最终粒径和表面形态。

结果

在膜拉伸之前和之后，动态光散射（DLS），扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和透射电子显微镜（TEM）已用于分析颗粒的尺寸和形态。将得到的球形NP（<150 nm）成功地转化为具有精确形状控制的单分散非球形棒状颗粒（<500 nm）。

结论

本研究为开发非球形Eudragit®S100聚合物颗粒提供了一种简单而经济的方法。这些颗粒可以用作有希望的结肠特异性药物递送或诊断系统。