Effects of miniemulsion operation conditions on the immobilization of BSA onto PMMA nanoparticles

Abstract

Polymer nanoparticles have been widely used in many biomedical applications, constituting a major incentive for immobilization of proteins. Poly(methyl methacrylate) nanoparticles were synthesized through miniemulsion polymerizations and used as supports for bovine serum albumin immobilization. Particularly, the effects of surfactant type (anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate and cationic cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide) surfactant concentration and monomer holdup on some of the final nanoparticle properties (particle sizes, zeta potential and protein load) were characterized with help of statistical experimental designs for the first time. Results showed that the characteristics of the surfactant controlled the BSA adsorption efficiency, with enhanced rates of adsorption on the anionic particle surfaces, showing that the surfactant exerts fundamental effect on functionalization of emulsified polymer particles, which must be explicitly acknowledged in studies of polymer particle functionalization with proteins. Finally, BSA adsorption was shown to follow a multilayer process, given the better fitting with the Freundlich model.

In situ encapsulation of praziquantel through methyl methacrylate/diethylaminoethyl methacrylate and MMA/DMAEMA miniemulsion copolymerizations in presence of distinct ionic surfactants

“…As a matter of fact, it is well known in the field that the character of the surfactant can influence the kinetic behavior of miniemulsion polymerizations. [29,30,39] Campos et al (2019) [32] also observed that MMA polymerizations stabilized by SDS were less subject to inhibitory effects than MMA polymerizations stabilized by CTAB.…”

“…The organic phase was prepared with 0-20 wt% of PZQ, 0-10 wt% of DEAEMA or DMAEMA, 10 wt% of mineral oil and 1 wt% of AIBN in MMA. These concentrations were defined in accordance with previous MMA miniemulsion polymerization [32] and PZQ encapsulating studies in PMMA nanoparticles, [2] PMMA microparticles [33] and MMA-based copolymer microparticles. [14,15] The initial miniemulsion was prepared through sonication with ice-bath, using a sonicator provided by Branson (Branson 450, Marshall Scintific, Hampton, USA) at 160 W for 5 min.…”

Effects of Different Stabilizers on Miniemulsion Methyl Methacrylate Polymerizations

“…These concentrations were defined in accordance with previous MMA miniemulsion polymerization studies. [8,16,29,30] The initial miniemulsions were prepared with a sonifier (Branson 450, Marshall Scintific, Hampton, USA) at 160 W for 5 min or with an ultra-turrax (T10 basic, IKA, Staufen, Germany) for 5 min at 14,500 rpm, using an ice bath to control the temperature of the emulsified system and keep it close to room temperature. The polymerizations were conducted in a 100 mL glass reactor (EasyMax 102, Mettler Toledo, Ohio, USA) at 80 o C under the agitation of 500 rpm for 180 min.…”

“…[8,9,14] The zeta potential values shown in Table 2 for particles prepared with the anionic surfactant SDS were negative, while zeta potential values were positive for particles prepared with the cationic surfactant CTAB, as expected, confirming that the surfactant is located at the particle surface. [8,16,[31][32][33][34] However, in all other cases, the zeta potential values were largely negative (with exception of PVA), indicating the enormous influence of KPS on the accumulation of charges in the surfaces that separate the organic and the aqueous phases. Although this effect has been emphasized in many previous investigations, [20,26,35] the fact is that the use of nonionic surfactants may be insufficient to reduce the zeta potential values of polymer particles, as required by modern regulations, if ionic initiators are not replaced by alternative biocompatible non-ionic initiators (such as benzoyl peroxide, BPO).…”

“…[10,14] As a matter of fact, different laws and regulations have imposed increasing limitations for use of surfactants in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields, explaining the growing interest in finding new sustainable and biocompatible surfactants that can be used for manufacture of nanoparticles intended for applications in these areas. [14,15] For example, miniemulsion polymerizations have often been performed in presence of the anionic surfactant SDS [5,[16][17][18] (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and of the cationic surfactant CTAB [8,16] (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide), but modern regulations do not recommend the use of these surfactants for production of nanoparticles to be used in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. [18][19][20] Pluronic F127 (or simply PF127) is a non-ionic triblock copolymer (poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide)) (PEO-PPO-PEO) that presents amphiphilic character in aqueous environments and is non-toxic and biocompatible.…”