Ciprofloxacin Loaded Alginate/Chitosan and Solid Lipid Nanoparticles, Preparation, and Characterization

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to develop controlled drug delivery systems based on nanotechnology. Two different nanocarriers were selected, chitosan-alginate nanoparticles as hydrophilic and solid lipid nanoparticles as lipophilic carriers. Nanoparticles were prepared and characterized by evaluating particle size, zeta potential, SEM pictures, DSC thermograms, percentage of drug loading efficiency, and drug release profile. The particle size of SLNs and Chi/Alg nanoparticles was 291 +/- 5 and 520 +/- 16. Drug loading efficiency of Chi/Alg and SLN particles were 68.98 +/- 5.5% and 88 +/- 4.5%. The drug release was sustained with chitosan-alginate system for about 45 hours whereas for SLNs > 98% of the drug was released in 2 hours. Release profile did not change significantly after freeze drying of particles using cryoprotector. Results suggest that under in vitro condition chitosan/alginate systems can act as promising carriers for ciprofloxacin and may be used as an alternative system in sustained delivery of ciprofloxacin.