Spontaneous Self-Assembly of Polymeric Nanoparticles in Aqueous Media: New Insights From Microfluidics, In Situ Size Measurements, and Individual Particle Tracking.
Supramolecular cyclodextrin-based nanoparticles (CD-NPs) mediated by host-guest interactions have gained increased popularity because of their "green" and simple preparation procedure, as well as their versatility in terms of inclusion of active molecules. Herein, we showed that original CD-NPs of around 100 nm are spontaneously formed in water, by mixing 2 aqueous solutions of (1) a CD polymer and (2) dextran grafted with benzophenone moieties. For the first time, CD-NPs were instantaneously produced in a microfluidic interaction chamber by mixing 2 aqueous solutions of neutral polymers, in the absence of organic solvents. Whatever the mixing conditions, CD-NPs with narrow size distributions were immediately formed upon contact of the 2 polymeric solutions. In situ size measurements showed that the CD-NPs were spontaneously formed. Nanoparticle tracking analysis was used to individually follow the CD-NPs in their Brownian motions, to gain insights on their size distribution, concentration, and stability on extreme dilution. Nanoparticle tracking analysis allowed to establish that despite their non-covalent nature, and the CD-NPs were remarkably stable in terms of concentration and size distribution, even on extreme dilution (concentrations as low as 100 ng/mL).
Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, UMR CNRS 8214, 91400 Orsay, France; Center for Drug Delivery Systems, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.
Xue
X
Li
Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, UMR CNRS 8214, 91400 Orsay, France.
Giuseppina
G
Salzano
Center for Drug Delivery Systems, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China. Electronic address: jwzhang@simm.ac.cn.
Jiwen
J
Zhang
Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, UMR CNRS 8214, 91400 Orsay, France. Electronic address: ruxandra.gref@u-psud.fr.
Ruxandra
R
Gref
D001577:Benzophenones / Q000737:chemistry; D003505:Cyclodextrins / Q000737:chemistry*; D003911:Dextrans / Q000737:chemistry; D004867:Equipment Design; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009038:Motion; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D001577:Benzophenones; D003505:Cyclodextrins; D003911:Dextrans; D014867:Water; C047723:benzophenone
cyclodextrins; distribution; nanoparticles; particle size; self-assembly