In Vitro Biocompatibility and Macrophage Uptake Assays of Poly(Urea-Urethane) Nanoparticles Obtained by Miniemulsion Polymerization

Abstract

In this work In Vitro cytotoxicity of poly(urea-urethane) nanoparticles obtained by miniemulsion polymerization against murine fibroblast (L929), normal human fibroblast (NIH3T3) and MRC-5 cell line derived from normal lung tissue, as well as, hemocompatibility, and In Vitro macrophage uptake were evaluated. From the results obtained in this work, poly(urea-urethane) nanoparticles showed spherical morphology, negative zeta potential and mean diameter of 85 ± 4 nm. In Vitro cytotoxicity against fibroblast cell lines L929, NIH-3T3, and MCR-5 showed no reduction of cell viability, which is a critical parameter for the drug carrier biocompatibility. In addition, in In Vitro macrophage uptake studies, poly(urea-urethane) nanoparticles showed a high phagocytic uptake, 72%. Hemolysis assays showed high human blood biocompatibility and the results indicate that poly(urea-urethane) nanoparticles obtained in this work have excellent properties without secondary effect, with potential application as carrier for drug delivery in the treatment of diseases in which macrophages act as host cells.