Bioesterified polysubstituted-cyclodextrin/surfactant nanoparticles obtained by multilevel self-assembly

The purpose of this work is to investigate the inclusion complexation between a novel amphiphilic biotransesterified cyclodextrin (CD), incorporated in nanostructured environment, and a model drug compound. A water-insoluble γ-cyclodextrin derivative (γ-CD-C10), polysubstituted with multiple (n=7-8) decanoyl chains (C10) on the secondary face, is produced by enzymatically-assisted esterification. The γ-CD-C10 derivative is embedded in amphiphilic nanoenvironment created by self-assembly with the lipophilic dye Nile red (NR) and the non-ionic surfactant polysorbate 80 (P80). The inclusion complexation and the environmental effects upon the γ-CDC10/NR/P80 nanoparticle (NP) formation, in a multilevel self-assembly approach, are investigated by means of steady-state fluorescence and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) techniques. Quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) is used to control the NP size distribution during the sequential steps of the assembling process.