A de novo formulation of metformin using chitosan‐based nanomicelles for potential diabetes therapy

A de novo formulation of metformin (MET) was developed through the physical loading of drug into a chitosan‐ grafted ‐[poly(acryl amide)‐ block ‐poly(acrylic acid)] [CS‐ g ‐(PAAm‐ b ‐PAA)] terpolymer. For this purpose, CS was functionazed with phthalic anhydride followed by 4‐cyano, 4‐[(phenylcarbothioyl)sulfanyl]pentanoic acid to produc a macro‐RAFT agent (CS‐CTA). Afterward, acryl amide and acrylic acid monomers were graft and block copolymerized onto the synthesized CS‐CTA through a reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization technique to afford CS‐ g ‐PAAm copolymer and CS‐ g ‐(PAAm‐ b ‐PAA) terpolymer, respectively. The fabricated CS‐ g ‐(PAAm‐ b ‐PAA) terpolymer was loaded with MET as an anti‐diabetic drug, and its drug release behavior was evaluated in the body simulated environment. As results, it was concluded that the fabricated CS‐ g ‐(PAAm‐ b ‐PAA) nanosystem has high potential as de novo drug delivery system (DDS) for diabetes therapy, mainly due to controlled drug release profile in comparison with conventional formulations of MET. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136 , 48037.