Novel chitosan-based strategies for insulin nanoencapsulation.

CECILIA PRUDKIN SILVA; KARINA D MARTÍNEZ; EDUARDO SAN MARTÍN; OSCAR E PÉREZ

Chitosan in Drug Delivery

Academic Press Publications for ELSEVIER

Lugar: Chennai; Año: 2021; p. 461 - 500

The objective of this contribution was to design encapsulating nano-microvehicles in which the encapsulated protein was the insulin hormone (I) and the encapsulating material, a new Argentinean chitosan (CS). This polysaccharide is biodegradable, biocompatible and mucoadhesive. It is intended for these nano-microvehicles to be a new type of design for I administration as an alternative to the traditional one (pulmonary or nasal route), with enormous implications for pediatric patients.Firstly, the "Molecular Self-assembly" strategy was used. These studies began with the characterization of both species in aqueous solutions. Mixed solutions were considered at pH of no electrostatic interaction and that of favoured interactions, pH2 and pH6, respectively. Dynamic light scattering, z-potential determinations, UV-visible spectrometry and rheometry were used. A molecular interaction model was developed for I and CS based on the pH of the solution and on the relative concentrations of both biopolymers. Two, configurations were obtained accordingly, the core-shell and cluster ones. Molecular interaction simulations completed the analysis. Nano-dehydration process (nanospray technonoly) was set-up and used as the alternative way for nanoparticle obtention. Particles with larger diameters were obtained and their colloidal stability was also evaluated.The effect of CS on the protein structure was determined, for both strategies, by infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The release profile of encapsulated insulin and its bioactivity were determined by in-vitro biological assays in suitable cell lines cultures.