Development and Characterization of Norfloxacin loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles

MORA M; SCOLARI, I; GARCIA, P; GRANERO G

Rosario

Congreso; 4º Reunión Internacional de Ciencias Farmacéuticas (RICiFa); 2016

Biodegradable nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as a promising strategy as delivery carriers of antimicrobial agents into specific cells due their unique properties.Chitosan (CHI) is a cationic polysaccharide which has gained increasing interest to prepare NPs because it is biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic and has mucoadhesive properties.Antibiotics are the usual treatment for bacterial infections. Norfloxacin (NFX) is a fluoroquinolones interfering with bacterial DNA synthesis. It is used clinically for the treatment of numerous infections as located in prostate, lung, digestive and urinary tract.The aim of this work was to develop and characterize NFX loaded CHI NPs, in order to increase the drug solubility and its bioavailability, due to its very slightly soluble in water.Empty and NFX loaded CHI NPs were prepared by the ionic gelation method, using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as cross-linked agent. The molar ratio between CHI and TPP was evaluated. NPs were characterized determining the average size, the zeta potential and the polydispersity index (PDI) by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The quantity of NFX entrapped into the NPs was determined by measuring the quantity of drug remaining in the supernatant by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The NPs mucoadhesive tendency was assessed by measurement of mucin/NPs interactions by DLS.Empty and NFX loaded CHI NPs were synthetized in a molar ratio of 9:1 at pH 4.9. The size of empty and loaded NPs obtained was about 350nm and 400nm respectively, and the charge potential on the surface of NPs was ~+40 mV. The nanoencapsulation efficiency of the NFX was found to be ~80%. Mucoadhesion studies showed that the NPs obtained have mucoadhesive properties, suggesting that could increase the NFX retention time on the administration site.From these results it can be concluded that the synthesized NPs can be promising as antimicrobial delivery system.