Microfluidic-assisted nanoprecipitation of (PEGylated) poly (D,L-lactic acid-co-caprolactone): Effect of macromolecular and microfluidic parameters on particle size and paclitaxel encapsulation

In this work we evaluate the effect of polymer composition and architecture of (PEGylated) polyesters on particle size and paclitaxel (PTX) loading for particles manufactured via microfluidic-assisted, continuous-flow nano-precipitation using two microfluidic chips with different geometries and mixing principles. We have prepared poly (D, L-lactic acid-co-caprolactone) (PLCL) from ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of LA and CL mixtures and different (macro) initiators (namely, 1-dodecanol, a MeO-PEG-OH, and a 4-armed star PEG-OH), rendering polyesters that vary in monomer composition (i.e. LA/CL ratios) and architecture (i.e. linear vs 4-armed star). Continuous-flow nanoprecipitation was assayed using two microfluidic chips: a cross-flow chip with a X-shaped mixing junction (2D laminar flow focusing) and a micromixer featuring a Y-shaped mixing junction and a split and recombine path (2D laminar flow focusing convinced with stream lamination for faster mixing). Nanoparticle formulations were produced with Z-average sizes in the range of 30-160 nm, although size selectivity could be seen for different polymer/chip combinations; for instance, smaller particles were obtained with Y-shaped micromixer (30-120 nm), specially for the PEGylated polyesters (30-50 nm), whereas the cross-flow chip systematically produced larger particles (80-160 nm). Loading of the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel (PTX) was also heavily influenced not only by the nature of the polyester, but also by the geometry of the microfluidic chip; higher drug loadings were obtained with the cross-flow reactor and the star block copolymers. Finally, decreasing the LA/CL ratio generally had a positive effect on drug loading.