Evaluation of Residual Solvents in a Poly (D,L-Lactide-Co-Glycolide) Nanoparticles Prepared by an Oil in Oil Emulsion/Solvent Evaporation Technique

There is an increased interest in developing biodegradable nanoparticles since they offer a suitable means of delivering small molecular weight drugs, proteins or genes by either localized or targeted delivery to the tissue of interest [1].Removal of residual solvents to very low concentrations is important to ensure a safe and stable micro/nanoparticles product [2,3,4]. In this work, poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles were prepared using the technique of oil in oil emulsion/solvent evaporation. The produced nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, laser particle size analyzer and gas chromatography. Results indicate that PLGA nanoparticles possess sphere-like shapes with wrinkle surfaces. The mean particle size of PLGA nanoparticles ranges from 470 nm to 890 nm depending on the stirring speed and temperature in this process. In this work, the acetonitrile and n-hexane residue in the nanoparticles without any further treatment is < 0.1 ppm, which meets the requirements of the various international pharmacopoeias