In vitro investigation on poly(lactide)-Tween 80 copolymer nanoparticles fabricated by dialysis method for chemotherapy

Polysorbate 80 (Tween 80) has been widely used as an emulsifier with excellent effects in nanoparticles technology for biomedical applications. This work was thus triggered to synthesize poly(lactide)/Tween 80 copolymers with various copolymer blend ratio, which were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization and characterized by H-1 NMR and TGA. Nanoparticles of poly(lactide)/Tween 80 copolymers were prepared by the dialysis method without surfactants/emulsifiers involved. Paclitaxel was chosen as a prototype anticancer drug due to its excellent therapeutic effects against a wide spectrum of cancers. The drug-loaded nanoparticles of poly(lactide)/Tween 80 copolymers were then characterized by various state-of-the-art techniques, including laser light scattering for particles size and size distribution, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for surface morphology; laser Doppler anemometry for zeta potential; differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for the physical status of the drug encapsulated in the polymeric matrix; X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) for Surface chemistry; high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for drug encapsulation efficiency; and in vitro drug release kinetics. HT-29 cells and Glioma C6 cells were used as an in vitro model of the GI barrier for oral chemotherapy and a brain cancer model to evaluate in vitro cytotoxicity of the paclitaxel-loaded nanoparticles. The viability of C6 cells was decreased from 37.4 +/- 4.0% for poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles to 17.8 +/- 4.2% for PLA-Tween 80-10 and 12.0 +/- 5.4% for PLA-Tween 80-20 copolymer nanoparticles, which was comparable with that for Taxol at the same 50 mu g/mL drug concentration.