Microfluidic synthesis of curcumin loaded polymer nanoparticles with tunable drug loading and pH-triggered release

Polymer nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted significant interest in the past years for drug delivery and triggered release. However, it remains a significant challenge to produce polymer NPs with controlled properties and tunable drug loading. Traditional nanoprecipitation often leads to low drug loading. This study reports the development of a new microfluidic nanoprecipitation approach for making polymer NPs with tunable drug loading up to 50%. The synthesized curcumin-loaded shellac NPs remain very stable for the period of our experiments (10 days) under acidic conditions (pH 4.5), but release the payload at neutral pH in a sustained manner. This work provides a new strategy for making drug-loaded polymer NPs with tunable drug loading and triggered release.