Preparation of surfactant-free nanoparticles of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide-co-e-caprolactone)

Abstract

Surfactant-free nanoparticles of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(D,L- lactide-co-glycolide-co-ε-caprolactone) diblock copolymers (MPEG-b-PDLLGCL) with different DLL:G:CL ratios were prepared by modified-spontaneous emulsification solvent diffusion method. Sizes of resulted colloidal nanoparticles obtained from light-scattering analysis were in the range of 121-132 nm with narrow size distribution. The nanoparticle sizes depended on the composition of the PDLLGCL block. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the nanoparticles were aggregated after drying process, suggested they were soft nanoparticles. However, their initial aggregates can be observed and it was shown that the nanoparticles have spherical shape with smooth surface. © 2009 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.