l-Ascorbic Acid and Thymoquinone Dual-Loaded Palmitoyl-Chitosan Nanoparticles: Improved Preparation Method, Encapsulation and Release Efficiency

Abstract

Encapsulation of dual compounds of different characters (hydrophilic and hydrophobic) in single nanoparticles carrier could reach the site of action more accurately with the synergistic effect but it is less investigated. In our previous findings, combined-compounds encapsulation and delivery from chitosan nanoparticles were impaired by the hydrophilicity of chitosan. Therefore, hydrophobic modification on chitosan with palmitic acid was conducted in this study to provide an amphiphilic environment for better encapsulation of antioxidants; hydrophobic thymoquinone (TQ) and hydrophilic l-ascorbic acid (LAA). Palmitoyl chitosan nanoparticles (PCNPs) co-loaded with TQ and LAA (PCNP-TQ-LAA) were synthesized via the ionic gelation method. Few characterizations were conducted involving nanosizer, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). UV–VIS spectrophotometry was used to analyze the encapsulation and release efficiency of the compounds in PCNPs. Successfully modified PCNP-TQ-LAA had an average particle size of 247.7 ± 24.0 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.348 ± 0.043 and zeta potential of 19.60 ± 1.27 mV. Encapsulation efficiency of TQ and LAA in PCNP-TQ-LAA increased to 64.9 ± 5.3% and 90.0 ± 0%, respectively. TQ and LAA in PCNP-TQ-LAA system showed zero-order release kinetics, with a release percentage of 97.5% and 36.1%, respectively. Improved preparation method, encapsulation and release efficiency in this study are anticipated to be beneficial for polymeric nanocarrier development.

Drug Release Profiles of Mitomycin C Encapsulated Quantum Dots–Chitosan Nanocarrier System for the Possible Treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

“…The surface charge of all CS-based NPs is around +30 mV, which is in a good agreement with the previous report and in addition, the observation of assimilated positive charges can be due to the presence of positively charged amino groups (−NH 3 + ) in CS's polymeric chain [50]. Substantially, the ZP value outside the range from −30 to 30 mV exhibits good suspension stability [59,60].…”

“…For the pure CS NPs ( Figure 6 e), the EDX analysis exhibits the composition of carbon and oxygen, with the presence of Na (0.72%) and P (8.57 wt%), validating the presence of TPP in CS [ 50 ]. For the CS-Mn:ZnS nanocomposite ( Figure 5 f), the combination of composition from Mn:ZnS and CS is observed, thereby revealing the successful conjugation of CS with that of Mn:ZnS QDs.…”

“…From the data, the particle size resembles the size of NPs, while PDI resembles homogeneity of particles distribution; lower PDI samples are made up of more uniform particles size and, therefore, they are more monodispersed. Meanwhile, zeta potential measures the surface charge of NPs that gets developed at the particle–liquid interface [ 50 ]. In this study, the drug nanocarriers were successfully synthesized by ionic gelation method using biodegradable CS crosslinked with TPP.…”

“…Pharmaceutics 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 19 ence of TPP in CS [50]. For the CS-Mn:ZnS nanocomposite (Figure 5f), the combination of composition from Mn:ZnS and CS is observed, thereby revealing the successful conjugation of CS with that of Mn:ZnS QDs.…”

Untitled

“…Nano-sized particles are capable of working as pharmaceutical carriers for various delivery systems, orally, transdermally, or intravenously. Studies show that NPs have been tremendously used in the biomedical sector to treat diseases like diabetes [10][11][12] and cancer [13][14][15] . Among all the existing NPs, a polymer that makes good NPs is chitosan (CS) due to its special properties.…”