Micro- and nanostructures prepared from biodegradable homopolymers and amphiphilic block copolymers (AmBCs) have found application as drug-delivery systems (DDSs). The ability to accumulate a drug is a very important parameter characterizing a given DDS. This work focuses on the impact of DDS size, the packing of polymer chains in the DDS, and drug - polymer matrix compatibility on the hydrophobic drug - loading capacity (DLC) of nano/microcarriers prepared from a biodegradable polymer or its copolymer. Using experimental measurements in combination with atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, an analysis of curcumin encapsulation in microspheres (MSs) from polylactide (PLA) homopolymer and nanoparticles (NPs) from PLA-block-poly(2-methacryloyloxyethylphosphorylcholine) AmBC was performed. The results show that curcumin has good affinity for the PLA matrix due to its hydrophobic nature. However, the DLC value is limited by the fact that curcumin only accumulates in the peripheral part of these structures. Such uneven drug distribution in the PLA matrix results from the non-homogeneous density of MSs (non-uniform packing of the polymer chains in the coil). The results also indicate that the MSs can retain a greater amount of hydrophobic drug compared to the NPs, which is associated with the formation of drug aggregates inside the PLA microparticles.

Department of Applied Chemistry University of Hyogo 2167 Shosha Himeji Hyogo 671 2280 Japan

Institute for Advanced Biosciences Inserm U 1209 CNRS UMR 5309 Université Grenoble Allée des Alpes 38700 la Tronche France; Laboratory of the Biology and Pathology of the Eye Institute of Biology and Medical Genetics 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and General Teaching Hospital Albertov 4 128 00 Prague Czech Republic

Jagiellonian University Faculty of Chemistry Gronostajowa 2 30 387 Kraków Poland

Jagiellonian University Faculty of Chemistry Gronostajowa 2 30 387 Kraków Poland; M Smoluchowski Institute of Physics Jagiellonian University Łojasiewicza 11 30 348 Kraków Poland

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