Preparation of Polymer Nanoparticles by the Emulsification-Solvent Evaporation Method: From Vanderhoff’s Pioneer Approach to Recent Adaptations

This chapter provides an overview up to date of the emulsification-solvent evaporation method to prepare polymer nanoparticles for pharmaceutical researchers and formulators. It highlights the recent technological advances, assessment, and new modalities of this method (e.g., double-emulsion and emulsification-solvent displacement). The aim of this chapter is to review representative works and discuss the raw materials, preparative variables, conditions, formation mechanisms, etc., in order to make them useful for specific developments of drug nanoparticles. The considerable progress which has been made in the Van de Hoff's method will be reviewed with examples and applications to show its effectiveness, versatility, advantages, and limitations. Finally, the chapter is written in such way that the reader obtains enough criteria involved in the process to facilitate the formulation task.