Preparation, Characterization and Water Uptake Behavior of Polysaccharide Based Nanoparticles

In most of the cases where conventional dosage forms are used, only a small amount of administered dose reaches the target site, while the majority of the drug distributes throughout the rest of the body in accordance with its biochemical properties. Therefore, one of the most attractive areas of research in drug delivery today is the design of nanosystems that are able to deliver drugs to the right place, at appropriate times and at the right dosage. The present study reports a novel strategy for the preparation of nanoparticles of alginate and chitosan by microemulsion crosslinking technique. Morphology and structural characterization of prepared nanoparticles were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), respectively. Nanoparticles were tested for cytotoxicity with human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells. The particles were allowed to swell in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and the influence of factors such as chemical composition of nanoparticles; pH and temperature of swelling bath were studied on water sorption capacity of nanoparticles. The prepared nanoparticles could prove to be an excellent option as carrier for controlled and targeted delivery of anticancer drugs.