(194c) Investigation of the Drug Distribution Within Nanoparticles By Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)

The drug distribution pattern within particles are critical for controlling the release of the drug from particles. Due to the effect of mixing within particles and at the interface, different fabrication processes can result in different patterns of drug distribution. In this study, we investigated two fabrication processes, sonication- and microfluidic-enhanced nanoprecipitation. In order to visualize by TEM, quantum dots with 5 nm in diameter were used as model drugs. We examined the effect of sonication strength and the inlet configuration of microfluidic system on the distribution of quantum dots within a particle. The sonication method yielded more uniform distribution of quantumn dots within a particle than microfludic system. The inlet configuration of the microfluidic system has a significant impact on the distribution of quantum dots within the particles. In some configurations, quantum dots formed a cluster while others quantum dots were uniformly distributed throughout the particle. We are exploring the mixing with the particle and at the interface of two fluids in order to offer insights into the process design for desirable drug contribution within a particle.