Latex nanoparticles surface modified via the layer-by-layer technique for two drugs loading

Abstract The emerging field of bionanotechnology aims at advancing colloidal through the development of multifunctional nanoparticle-based containers for drug delivery systems. The primary focus is to enhance the loading/release of therapeutic agents. Herein, nanocarriers with a synthetic polymer core and multilayers of polysaccharides were elaborated by combining two techniques to load all at once two different drugs. The present strategy is advantageous in comparison with other synthetic routes because at all steps, only water is used as a solvent and not organic one. Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVac) latex particles, loaded with tocopherol acetate (vitamin E) through hydrophobic interaction, were prepared via miniemulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as an emulsifier. This latter leads to a negatively charged surface of latex nanoparticles and was advantageously used as a core to be coated with natural polyelectrolytes (alginate and chitosan) via the layer-by-layer deposition. Entrapment of amoxicillin (an antibiotic) into the multilayer shell was then induced through a simple diffusion process / electrostatic interaction. The loaded nanocarriers covered by (chitosan/alginate) n - chitosan layers showed high zeta-potential value (about +35 mV provided by zeta potential measurement). Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) highlighted a spherical shape and a size lower than 200 nm. Finally, we evidence the pH-triggered drugs release (tocopherol acetate and amoxicillin) and the impact of the parameter constituting the multilayer, i.e. (i) number and (ii) crosslinking. Our results demonstrate that the elaborated latex-core polysaccharide-coated nanoparticles are promising as multifunctional nanocarrier.