Aloe vera gel influence on the micellization behavior of copolymer Pluronic F127: A potential photosensitizer carrier for topical application

Abstract

This work describes the influence of aloe vera gel on Pluronic F127 triblock copolymer (F127) micellization behavior. Aloe vera gel was obtained from aloe vera mucilage found in leaf pulp. F127 (20% w/w) gel and the aloe vera/F127 blend gel were obtained by using the cold method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction analyses of lyophilized samples did not show any important copolymer interaction between aloe vera gel and F127. However, in aqueous medium, the dynamic light scattering data showed that there was an important reduction in micelle size with increasing temperature of the aloe vera/F127 blend hydrogel. The differential scanning calorimetry results indicate that the aloe vera/F127 blend has a higher micellization temperature, affected by the lower dehydrating effect of the poly(propylene oxide) blocks during the micelle formation in comparison to F127 gel. The texture analyses (hardness and adhesiveness) showed that the addition of aloe vera gel did not change the Pluronic F127 gel texture properties. The photosensitizer zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPC) was incorporated into the aloe vera/F127 blend, and the results suggest that this formulation is suitable as a ZnPC delivery system for photodynamic therapy. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46191.

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