High throughput preparation and characterisation of amphiphilic nanostructured nanoparticulate drug delivery vehicles

The preparation, characterisation and assessment of drug delivery vehicles is typically a slow and complex process. Here we present a nanostructured nanoparticle system that can be prepared and characterised in a high-throughput fashion. In particular we use phytantriol and Myverol (TM) to prepare inverse bicontinuous cubic and inverse hexagonal liquid crystalline nanoparticles loaded with 10 commonly used therapeutic agents at increasing concentration. The dispersions are prepared using automated apparatus to create different concentrations and phases using novel protocols. We are able to characterise each stabilised nanoparticle dispersion using a range of methodologies including small angle X-ray scattering, particle sizing and drug partitioning. With this information we are able to assess which drug delivery vehicle is preferred for each drug and at which concentration the drug should be loaded to ensure maximum payload and to retain particle integrity. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.