Novel thermo/pH sensitive nanogels composed from poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) for controlled release of an anticancer drug

A series of novel nanogels (NGs) with both pH and thermoresponsive properties were synthesised by free radical emulsion polymerisation of N-vinyl caprolactam (VCL) and acrylamidoglycolic acid (AGA). 5-Flurouracil, an anti cancer drug, was successfully loaded into these nanogels via equilibrium swelling method. The encapsulation efficiency of 5-FU was found up to 61%. Here we present the novel potential drug delivery system showing both pH and temperature release of 5-FU. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) examined the structure and morphology of the NGs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicates the diameter of the NGs to be about 50 nm. The size distribution of NGs was investigated using dynamic light scattering (DLS), the average diameter and polydispersity is 57 nm and 0.194. Interestingly, the in vitro release studies of 5-FU demonstrated the dual nature (pH and temperature) of NGs. The cumulative release data were analysed using an emperical equation to compute the diffusion exponent (n); whose values suggest Fickian diffusion.