Studies On The Preparation Of Chitosan-based Nanoparticles For Drug Delivery

The aim of this study is to develop and investigate the preparation of chitosan-based nanoparticles for drug delivery. Two methods were used, one is to prepare the chitosna/CMC microcapsules and the other is to prepare amphiphilic polymer containing chitosan.A series of chitosan with different molecule weight were prepared by degradating with NaNO2. The molecular weight of chitosan was measured by viscometer and the end aldehyde group titrimetric. At the same time, the influence of various reaction condition on the molecular weight and deacetylation degree of products were studied. FTIR was also used to characterized the product. Chitosan/CMC microcapsule was prepared by ionically cross-linked coacervation method. The products were characterized by their conformation, and mechanism of microcapsulation with TEM, FITR and turbidimetric titration. The diameters of microcapsules which were formed by the electrostatic interaction between chitosan and CMC are about 200 nm. The condition for microencapsulation was gentle which provided a foundation to the further drug release experiment. We also investigated and characterized the amphiphilic polymer containing succinic acid cholesteryl ester modified chitosan by FTIR and TEM. The modified chitosan polymer have potential to self-aggregate into polymeric micelles which provided an important development direction for drug delivery systems.