Controlling chitosan-based encapsulation for protein and vaccine delivery

Abstract

Chitosan-based nano/microencapsulation is under increasing investigation for the delivery of drugs, biologics and vaccines. Despite widespread interest, the literature lacks a defined methodology to control chitosan particle size and drug/protein release kinetics. In this study, the effects of precipitation-coacervation formulation parameters on chitosan particle size, protein encapsulation efficiency and protein release were investigated. Chitosan particle sizes, which ranged from 300 nm to 3 μm, were influenced by chitosan concentration, chitosan molecular weight and addition rate of precipitant salt. The composition of precipitant salt played a significant role in particle formation with upper Hofmeister series salts containing strongly hydrated anions yielding particles with a low polydispersity index (PDI) while weaker anions resulted in aggregated particles with high PDIs. Sonication power had minimal effect on mean particle size, however, it significantly reduced polydispersity. Protein loading efficiencies in chitosan nano/microparticles, which ranged from 14.3% to 99.2%, was inversely related to the hydration strength of precipitant salts, protein molecular weight and directly related to the concentration and molecular weight of chitosan. Protein release rates increased with particle size and were generally inversely related to protein molecular weight. This study demonstrates that chitosan nano/microparticles with high protein loading efficiencies can be engineered with well-defined sizes and controllable release kinetics through manipulation of specific formulation parameters.

A simple and convenient method to synthesize N-[(2-hydroxyl)-propyl-3-trimethylammonium] chitosan chloride in an ionic liquid

“…It has gained tremendous interest in many fields, such as ion adsorption (Wei et al, 2013), drug delivery (Jiang, Jame, Kumbar, & Laurencin, 2014;Koppolu et al, 2014), heavy metal removal (Wang & Chen, 2014), wound healing (Kweon, Song, & Park, 2003), and extensively used as a recyclable biopolymer-supported catalyst (Sun et al, 2012). This wide applicability is derived, in part, from unique properties of CS, namely its biocompatibility, low-toxicity and biodegradability (Muzzarelli, 2010;Muñoz-Bonilla & Fernández-García, 2012).…”

The Optimum Conditions of Carboxymethyl Chitosan Synthesis on Drug Delivery Application and Its Release of Kinetics Study

“…An example of a natural polymer that can be used as a carrier matrix of the active substance is chitosan. Chitosan is usually preferred as carrier matrix because of its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and non-toxicity [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. …”

Intracellular sorting of differently charged chitosan derivatives and chitosan-based nanoparticles

“…5 Among various polymers designed for biomedical applications chitosan, a natural biopolymer obtained by a controlled deacetylation of chitin, has significant advantages over analogues due to its biodegradability, low toxicity, increased adherence to mucosal surfaces, 6 and abundant amino groups ready for derivization. 10 Several groups demonstrated that the uptake of positively charged NPs was more efficient than that of the negatively charged ones [11][12][13] while others found no difference in their traffic. 10 Several groups demonstrated that the uptake of positively charged NPs was more efficient than that of the negatively charged ones [11][12][13] while others found no difference in their traffic.…”