Development and evaluation of polymeric nanoparticle formulations for triamcinolone acetonide delivery

Abstract

The aims of this study were to develop polymeric NP formulations for triamcinolone acetonide (TA) delivery, from biodegradable and biocompatible hydrophobic polymers, which provide sustained release, prolonged stability and low toxicity, and to assess the toxicity of TA NPs (TA-NPs) compared to TA alone upon BALB/c 3T3 and ARPE 19 cell culture models.The study involved investigation of three different types of polymers: poly(D,L,lactide) (PDLLA), poly(D,L,lactide-co-glycolide)(PLGA) and methoxypolyethyleneglycol poly(D,L,lactide-co-glycolide)(mPEG PLGA). Two different methods were studied in the TA-NPs preparation: spontaneous emulsification solvent diffusion and emulsification solvent evaporation methods.The results show that emulsification-solvent evaporation method was superior to spontaneous emulsification solvent diffusion in terms of yield, loading and entrapment efficiency. TA-NPs synthesised of mPEG PLGA exhibited the smallest particle size, highest efficiency and fastest release of TA, whereas PDLLA produced large TA-NPs with the slowest TA release. The toxicity study revealed that BALB/c 3T3 was more sensitive than ARPE 19 and was concentration dependent in response to 24 hour exposure of either TA or TA-NPs, while ARPE 19 appeared to be less sensitive to the exposure. All NPs were less toxic than TA in all concentrations, in both cell models.