Desenvolvimento de sistema de atomização de solução polimérica em meio circulante para obtenção de partículas nano

Abstract

Polymeric particles formed on a nanometric scale are of fundamental interest today, especially when used as carrier systems in the controlled release of drugs, cosmetics and nutraceuticals, as well as in the coating of materials with magnetic properties. The present study aims to develop a system for the production of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) particles from the atomization of polymer solution in antisolvent medium. In this system, polymer solutions in different solvents are prepared and atomized in the form of a spray. The droplets generated with the atomization come into contact with an antisolvent liquid which causes the precipitation and formation of the polymer particles. In this work, experiments using the proposed system were performed under different operating conditions and the particles obtained were analyzed by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results demonstrated that it is possible to obtain particles with characteristics of nanospheres / nanocapsules and nanofibers with size distribution in the range of 50 to 5000 nm. It was also possible to observe that the process variables such as the nature of the polymer, type of solvent (acetone, ethyl acetate, ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol and propyl alcohol), atomization pressure (0.25-3 bar) and antisolvent medium temperature (10-40°C) directly affect the morphology and particle size distribution (DTP). In addition, the potential of encapsulation of the proposed system was evaluated. Cotton oil and iron aluminate (inverse spinel) were used as the material to be encapsulated. The particles produced in this evaluation were analyzed by DLS, MET, field emission scanning electron microscopy (MEV-FEG), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the encapsulation check. According to these results, it was verified the formation of carrier particles, with characteristics of nanocapsules and nanospheres. That is, the encapsulated material can be found within the polymer particle or adhered to the surface thereof, respectively.