Abstract
Chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs) are attracting interest because of their applications in drug delivery and medical imaging. This study synthesized low-molecular-weight CS NPs by ionic crosslinking with tripolyphosphate (TPP) as crosslinker using static mixers. Effects of process parameters on the size of CS NPs were investigated. CS NPs 168–1000 nm in size were obtained. Increasing the number of mixing elements, decreasing the CS concentration, or increasing the temperature of CS solution produced small NPs. Increasing the CS/TPP ratio initially decreased and then increased the size of CS NPs, with the smallest NPs obtained at 10:3 CS/TPP ratio. Flow rate exerted a similar effect as volume ratio on the size of CS NPs. Flow rates of 250 and 75 mL/min for CS and TPP solutions, respectively, produced the smallest particles. A fully continuous process was developed by combining static mixing and ionic crosslinking to mass produce CS NPs.
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