Effect of UV and Gamma Irradiation Sterilization Processes in the Properties of Different Polymeric Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications.

Y S Tapia-Guerrero,I García-Aguirre,G Leyva-Gómez,D M Giraldo Gomez,F V Borbolla-Jiménez,C A Colín-Castro,J J Magaña,M L Del Prado-Audelo,J A Morales-González

doi:10.3390/ma13051090

Abstract

The sterilization processes of nanoparticles (NP) by autoclaving and filtration are two of the most utilized methods in the pharmaceutical industry but are not always a viable option. For this reason, the search for alternative options such as UV and gamma radiation is of interest. In this work, we evaluated both types of sterilization on two types of NP in solid state widely employed in the literature for biomedical applications, poly-(ε-caprolactone) and poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) acid NP stabilized with polyvinyl alcohol. Physicochemical properties and cell viability were studied pre- and post-sterilization. The efficiency of irradiation sterilization was performed by a test of sterility using 1 × 108 CFU/mL of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. Microbiological monitoring revealed that both methods were sufficient for sterilization. After the UV irradiation sterilization (100 µJ/cm2), no substantial changes were observed in the physicochemical properties of the NP or in the interaction or morphology of human glial cells, though 5 and 10 kGy of gamma irradiation showed slight changes of NP size as well as a decrease in cell viability (from 100 µg/mL of NP). At 5 kGy of radiation doses, the presence of trehalose as cryoprotectant reduces the cell damage with high concentrations of NP, but this did not occur at 10 kGy. Therefore, these methods could be highly effective and low-processing-time options for sterilizing NP for medical purposes. However, we suggest validating each NP system because these generally are of different polymer-composition systems.

Highlights

Polymeric nanoparticles (NP) have shown to be promising drug-delivery systems for use in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications
Some studies have even demonstrated that a size of 420 nm has the ability to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB) [22], which can increase with surface modifications through the functionalization or coating by different molecules or surfactants [23]
We demonstrated the feasibility of the radiation sterilization of PCL/PVA and PLGA/PVA NP

Summary

Introduction

Polymeric nanoparticles (NP) have shown to be promising drug-delivery systems for use in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Depending on the material with which they are designed and the resulting physical and chemical characteristics, multiple nanoparticulate systems have been developed to be used as pharmacological vehicles or gene therapy vectors for several tissues such as central nervous system (CNS) delivery that can be made up of hydrophobic polymers such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA), PLGA, and PCL [4]. The usefulness of these NP formulations and the medical implications for their in vivo administration require sterile manufacturing conditions [10].

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