Development and physical chemistry characterization of solid lipid nanoparticles for encapsulating proteins

Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) have been investigated since the early 90s. The SLN dispersions have as main feature the strong interaction with drugs molecule or proteins resulting in a sustained release and target specific delivery increasing the action. This work aimed at the development of NLS employing various types of lipids (dynasan® 114, dynasan® 118, stearic acid, cetyl palmitate, softisan® 100), mixtures of surfactants (tween® 80, span® 85, span® 80, lipoid® S75) and methods for hot high pressure omogenization and double emulsification (w/o/a). The pre formulation characterization was performed by thermal analysis, morphology and Hydrophilic Lipophilic Balance (HLB). The production processes were optimized with factorial design and NLS were characterized by size, polidspersidade, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, cytotoxicity, transfection capacity, morphology and stability. Model Protein was encapsulated in NLS developed by double emulsification methodology. The NLS showed low toxicity in cellular studies, stability in vitro and spherical morphology. Additionally, was added cationic charge in surface and evaluate capacity of transfection in Hela cells. The NLS developed in this work showed promise for encapsulation of proteins and, possibly, nucleic acids for parenteral administration (AU)