The Use of Chitosan Nanoparticles Obtained by Ionic Gelation Method as a Drug Delivery System

Abstract

Chitosan, a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, has attracted the interest of scientists in recent years due to its antibacterial, antimicrobial and antifungal effects.  In this study, the usage of chitosan nanoparticles (CNP) as a drug delivery system is investigated. In this study, the effect of chitosan / cross-linker ratio and pH parameters on CNP produced by ionic gelation technique is observed. Tripolyphosphate (TPP) is used as a cross-linker. For the usage of CNP as a drug delivery system, salicylic acid, a hydrophilic drug-acting substance, is loaded as a model drug to the resulting nanoparticles and release kinetics are determined for 72 hours in phosphate buffer solution (PBS).  For the structural characterization of CNP produced by ionic gelation technique, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) is used. Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscopy (FEG-SEM) is used for surface characterization.  In addition, UV-spectrophotometer is used to obtain drug release properties of the produced nanoparticles. CNP drug delivery systems produced in this study; is a candidate material which can be used in many areas due to the fact that degradation products of nanoparticles that are disintegrated in the physiological environment are non-toxic, have high active ingredient loading capacity and can be designable as desired according to the usage areas (cosmetic, pharmaceutical, biomedical and tissue engineering, etc.).