(607f) Microreactors As a Tool for Producing Polymer Nanoparticles By a Self-Assembled Process

Microreactors as a tool for producing polymer nanoparticles by a self-assembled process.

A. Tabernero, A. González-Garcinuño, Miguel A. Galán, Eva M. Martín del Valle

Department of Chemical Engineering; University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

Microreactors have been used for these last years for improving nanomaterials synthesis because several reaction parameters can be easily controlled. This type of reactors provides a continuous shear stress on nanoparticles dispersion, allowing a uniform outcome and controlling the nanoparticles formation kinetics. In this work, we propose the use of a microreactor to avoid nanoparticles aggregation of a fructose biopolymer (levan). This polymer is amphiphilic and is able to produce nanoparticles by a self-assembled process and shows a great potential for biomedical applications. Furthermore, the effect of several experimental parameters on biopolymer particles aggregation and Z-potential will be studied in order to determine the best conditions to avoid nanoparticles aggregation. Microreactors nanoparticle results will be in addition compared with the results obtained with a conventional methodology to produce levan nanoparticles.Results indicate that particle size decreases from 400 nm. to 100 nm by using microreactors, whereas the Z-potential remains more or less the same (between -25 and -30 mV). Moreover, we studied the use of microreactors with the carboxymethylated form of the polymer (carboxymethyllevan), obtaining the same tendency.

Therefore, microreactors can be used as a tool for producing nanoparticles of materials that can self-assemble in nanoparticles due to its amphiphilic nature.