title: Calcium Stearate as an Effective Alternative to Poly(vinyl alcohol) in Poly-Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid Nanoparticles Synthesis.
abstract: Poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) are among the most studied systems for drug and gene targeting. So far, the synthesis of stable and uniform PLGA NPs has involved the use of a large excess of polyvinyl surfactants such as poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), whose removal requires multistep purification procedures of high ecological and economic impact. Hence the development of environment-friendly and cost-effective synthetic procedures for the synthesis of PLGA NPs would effectively boost their use in clinics. This work aims to address this issue by investigating more efficacious alternatives to the so far employed polyvinyl surfactants. More specifically, we developed an innovative synthetic process to achieve stable and uniformly distributed PLGA NPs that involves the use of calcium stearate (CSt), gaining benefits of its high biocompatibility and efficacy at low concentrations and avoiding consequently expensive purification steps. With the help of minimum quantities of polysorbate 60 and sorbitane monostearate, CSt-stabilized PLGA NPs with different sizes and structures were synthesized. The influence of CSt on the encapsulation efficiency of bioactive molecules has been also investigated. The effective encapsulation of both hydrophobic (curcumin) and hydrophilic (fibrinogen labeled with Alexa647) biomolecules into NPs was demonstrated by confocal microscopy, and their release quantified by spectrofluorimetric analyses. Finally, degradation and cytotoxicity studies showed that CSt stabilized NPs were stable under physiological conditions and with good biocompatibility, thus looking promising for further investigation as controlled release devices.
authors.affiliation: Filarete Foundation, viale Ortles 22/4, 20139 Milano, Italy.|SEMM, European School of Molecular Medicine , Campus IFOM-IEO, via Adamello 16, 20139 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9210-0775
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cella
authors.affiliation: Filarete Foundation, viale Ortles 22/4, 20139 Milano, Italy.|Tensive S.r.l., via Timavo 34, 20124 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Irini
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gerges
authors.affiliation: Cimaina and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano , via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Milani
authors.affiliation: Cimaina and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano , via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lenardi
authors.affiliation: Filarete Foundation, viale Ortles 22/4, 20139 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Argentiere
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry*; D013229:Stearic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D013229:Stearic Acids; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid; C031183:stearic acid; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol