Production, Physico-Chemical Characterization and Biodistribution Studies of Lipid Nanoparticles

This study describes the preparation, characterization, in vitro uptake and in vivo biodistribution in mice of solid lipidnanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers.The effect of nanoparticle lipid matrix, presence of fluorescent and functionalization by polysorbate 80 ondimensional distribution and morphology have been studied by sedimentation field flow fractionation, photon correlationspectroscopy and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. The complementary use of different techniquesdemonstrated that lipid matrix composition, presence of fluorescent dye and polysorbate 80 functionalization have littleeffect on nanoparticle morphology and size distribution.Uptake of fluorescent nanoparticles was determined in vitro by human brain endothelial cells, showing thatnanoparticles treated by polysorbate 80 displayed lower uptake values with respect to the corresponding controlnanoparticles.Biodistribution of solid lipid nanoparticles treated by polysorbate 80 was evaluated by fluorescent luminescentimaging after intraperitoneal administration in mice. The in vivo images indicate that nanoparticles were able to reachthe brain, even if they prevalently accumulated in liver and spleen.