Utilization of Microfluidics for the Preparation of Polymeric Nanoparticles for the Antioxidant Rutin - a comparison with bulk production.

To compare the characteristics of rutin-loaded PLGA (Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)) nanoparticles prepared using a single emulsion evaporation method (bulk method) and a nanoprecipitation method using microfluidics.

Method: Rutin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles were produced using different methods and characterized for size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency (EE) and drug loading (DL). A design of experiments approach was used to identify the effect of method parameters to optimize the formulation. DSC was used to investigate the solid state characteristics of rutin and PLGA and identify any interactions in the rutin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles. The release of rutin from PLGA nanoparticles was examined in biorelevant media and phosphate buffer (PBS).

Results: The optimal formulation of rutin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles produced using a microfluidics method resulted in a higher entrapment efficiency of 34 ± 2% and a smaller size of 123 ± 4 nm compared to bulk method (EE 27 ± 1%, size 179 ± 13 nm). The solid state of rutin and PLGA changed from crystalline to amorphous with the preparation of rutin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles. More importantly, using microfluidics, rutin released faster from rutin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles in biorelevant media and PBS with higher burst release compared to the rutin release from the nanoparticles prepared by using the bulk method.

Conclusion: Rutin can be encapsulated in nanoparticles formulated with different methods with mean sizes of less than 200 nm. Microfluidics produced more uniform rutin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles with a higher EE, DL and faster release compared to a bulk production method.