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Facile preparation of well‐defined near‐monodisperse chitosan/sodium alginate polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles (CS/SAL NPs) via ionotropic gelification: A suitable technique for drug delivery systems
Author(s) -
Liu Peng,
Zhao Xubo
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
biotechnology journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.144
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1860-7314
pISSN - 1860-6768
DOI - 10.1002/biot.201300093
Subject(s) - polyelectrolyte , nanoparticle , dispersity , chitosan , drug delivery , biocompatibility , chemical engineering , ionic strength , chemistry , drug carrier , materials science , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , aqueous solution , polymer , engineering
Polymeric nanoparticles have emerged as a promising approach for drug delivery systems. We prepared chitosan (CS)/sodium alginate (SAL) polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles (CS/SAL NPs) via a simple and mild ionic gelation method by adding a CS solution to a SAL solution, and investigated the effects of molecular weight of the added CS, and the SAL:CS mass ratio on the formation of the polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles. The well‐defined CS/SAL NPs with near‐monodisperse particle size of about 160 nm exhibited a pH stable structure, and pH responsive properties with a negatively or positively charged surface. The so‐called “electrostatic sponge” structure of the polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles enhanced their drug‐loading capacity towards the differently charged model drug molecules, and favored controlled release. We also found that the drug‐loading capacity was influenced by the nature of the drugs and the drug‐loading media, while drug release was affected by the solubility of the drugs in the drug‐releasing media. The biocompatibility and biodegradability of the polyelectrolytes in the polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles were maintained by ionic interactions. These results indicate that CS/SAL NPs can represent a useful technique for pH‐responsive drug delivery systems.