I've synthesized a drug loaded polymer nanoparticle, dialyzed it, and compared it with non-dialyzed one. I found non-dialyzed one is more sticky than dialyzed one after lyophilization. Is it true? Can anyone explain it for me?
Depending of the cut off of the dialysis membrane you used, the impurities (free drug etc) can be removed, it is a purification technique, so it can be why the aspect changed.
This could be a function of surface charge. Considerable amount of surfactant or free drug is adsorbed on the surface of nanoparticles during formulation. The charge contributed by these component by affect the overall zeta potential/ surface charge of the nanoparticles. Dialysis would remove any free drug and adsorbed surfactant (based on cut off, as suggested by Julie) which might expose the polymer group (carboxyl in terms of PLGA). This might cause a more uniform surface charge in the nanoparticles and enhance the dispersion properties. Although there is no direct evidence for this phenomenon, this is collective conclusion from available information.
Thank you both. Well I have got this kind of picture. Can I treat those two white spheres as 'nanoparticles' in sticky dark background?
Well they surely look like nanoparticles. Shows the morphology is smooth and shape is spherical. However, in my experience, reviewers usually look for more samples (nanoparticles) in you images to evaluate how homogenous or heterogeneous your nanoparticles are. I would suggest to increase the concentration of nanoparticles when your are sampling for SEM (I believe from the image). Hope this helps!
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