PREPARATION OF CHITOSAN NANOPARTICLES MODIFIED WITH SODIUM ALGINATE WITH POTENTIAL FOR CONTROLLED DRUG RELEASE PREPARATION OF CHITOSAN NANOPARTICLES MODIFIED WITH SODIUM ALGINATE WITH POTENTIAL FOR CONTROLLED DRUG RELEASE

Abstract

Chitosan nanoparticles modified with sodium alginate (CA) were synthesized using an ionic gelation method with pentasodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) as a crosslinking agent to evaluate their behavior as a drug carrier. Four samples were prepared (CA1-CA4) with different proportions of modifier agent alginate (0.5 and 1 mg / ml) and crosslinker STPP (1.5 and 2 mg / ml), maintaining a fixed concentration of chitosan (2.25 mg / ml). These nanoparticles were suspended in biological buffers to emulate the basicity and acidity conditions of the human gastrointestinal tract (pH 7.4 and 1.2 respectively). Hydrodynamic sizes of the synthesized nanoparticles were determined using dynamic light scattering (DLS). Based on these measurements, a hydrodynamic diameter of 152 nm was estimated for the best combination of chitosan-alginate-STPP. Tests were conducted to measure the encapsulation and controlled drug release capacity of the synthesized nanoparticles using rhodamine B as a tracer. From this evaluation, an encapsulation capacity of approximately 52% and values of dye release of 36% (pH 7.4) and 46% (pH 1.2) were observed, suggesting the potential of these nanoparticles for biomedical applications.