Preparation, Characterization and Drug Release in Vitro of Galactosylated Chitosan-Graft-PEG Nanoparticles

Abstract-Galactose group was coupled with chitosan for liver specificity, and Poly(ethylene glycol) was selected to modify galactosylated chitosan (GC) for stability in water and enhanced cell permeability. The chemical structure of galactosylated chitosan-graft-PEG (GCP) was characterized by FT-IR and ¹H-NMR techniques. Norcantharidin was chosen as model drug and encapsulated within GCP nanoparticles through ionic gelification. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were employed to characterize the nanoparticles fabricated for morphology, size with polydispersity index. Encapsulation efficiency (EE) and the release of norcantharidin in nanoparticles in vitro were measured by HPLC. Norcantharidin release from the nanoparticles exhibited a biphasic pattern, initial burst release and consequently sustained release. The experimental results show that the novel GCP nanoparticles may be used as a potential drug delivery system with passive and active hepatic targeting properties.