PEG-grafted chitosan nanoparticles as an injectable carrier for sustained protein release

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine Vol. 19; no. 12; pp. 3525 - 3533
• Main Authors: Zhang, X. G., Teng, D. Y., Wu, Z. M., Wang, X., Wang, Z., Yu, D. M., Li, C. X.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.12.2008; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biodegradation; Biomaterials; Biomedical engineering; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Biomedical materials; Buffers; Ceramics; Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chitosan - chemistry; Circular Dichroism; Composites; Delayed-Action Preparations; Drug Carriers - chemistry; Glass; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Hypoglycemic Agents - chemistry; Injections; Insulin; Insulin - administration & dosage; Insulin - chemistry; Insulin - metabolism; Materials Science; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Models, Chemical; Molecular Weight; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Natural Materials; Particle Size; Phosphates - chemistry; Polyethylene Glycols - administration & dosage; Polyethylene Glycols - chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Proteins; Proteins - administration & dosage; Proteins - chemistry; Regenerative Medicine/Tissue Engineering; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Surfaces and Interfaces; Temperature; Thin Films; Chitosan Nanoparticles; Ionic Gelation; Chitosan; Insulin Release; Chitosan Chain
• DOI: 10.1007/s10856-008-3500-8
• ISSN: 0957-4530

The development of injectable nanoparticulate “stealth” carriers for protein delivery is a major challenge. The objective of this work was to investigate the possibility of achieving the controlled release of a model protein, insulin, from PEG-grafted chitosan (PEG- g -chitosan) nanoparticles (mean diameter 150–300 nm) prepared by the ion gelation method. Insulin was efficiently incorporated into the nanoparticles, and reached as high as 38%. In vitro release showed that it could control the insulin release by choosing the composition, loading and release temperature. We observed that the composition of the nanoparticle surface (C/O ratio) increased from 2.40 to 3.23, with an increase in the incubation time. Therefore, we concluded that during this time, insulin release from PEG- g -chitosan nanoparticles followed a diffusion mechanism in which erosion was negligible. The experiments also demonstrated that PEG- g -chitosan helped to maintain the natural structure of the protein entrapped in the nanoparticles.