Investigating Novel Syntheses of a Series of Unique Hybrid PLGA-Chitosan Polymers for Potential Therapeutic Delivery Applications

Abstract

Discovering new materials to aid in the therapeutic delivery of drugs is in high demand. PLGA, a FDA approved polymer, is well known in the literature to form films or nanoparticles that can load, protect, and deliver drug molecules; however, its incompatibility with certain drugs (due to hydrophilicity or charge repulsion interactions) limits its use. Combining PLGA or other polymers such as polycaprolactone with other safe and positively-charged molecules, such as chitosan, has been sought after to make hybrid systems that are more flexible in terms of loading ability, but often the reactions for polymer coupling use harsh conditions, films, unpurified products, or create a single unoptimized product. In this work, we aimed to investigate possible innovative improvements regarding two synthetic procedures. Two methods were attempted and analytically compared using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC) to furnish pure, homogenous, and tunable PLGA-chitosan hybrid polymers. These were fully characterized by analytical methods. A series of hybrids was produced that could be used to increase the suitability of PLGA with previously non-compatible drug molecules.

Bioactive Ibuprofen-Loaded PLGA Coatings for Multifunctional Surface Modification of Medical Devices

“…This indicated that neither drastic alterations of materials occurred until the 30 th day, nor secondary products were formed. Specific IR maxima identified in Figure 5 were attributed to both PLGA and Ibuprofen as follows: asymmetric and symmetric stretching of –CH 3 and –CH 2 (between ~3000 and ~2850 cm −1 ), C=O symmetric stretching (between ~1760 and ~1690 cm −1 ), overlapped –OH bending and –CH 3 symmetric deformation (~1385 cm −1 ) [ 68 , 69 ]. Vibrations corresponding to LA (methyl’s asymmetric deformation) and GA (methylene’s symmetric deformation) were identified at ~1450 cm −1 , while characteristic vibrations of C–O–C moiety from both units were evidenced between ~1170 and ~1080 cm −1 [ 70 , 71 ].…”

A Reevaluation of Chitosan-Decorated Nanoparticles to Cross the Blood-Brain Barrier

“…The chitosan coating architecture is influenced by the method of preparation, the type of chitosan, and the molecular properties of the nanoparticle´s materials; thus, the choice of the correct mechanism will lead to better results. Notably, the covalent mechanisms produce more stable interactions easily characterizable by analytical techniques such as infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, or HPLC [52][53][54]. However, the procedure can become complicated, hardly scalable, and challenging to reproduce.…”

“…Notably, the covalent mechanisms produce more stable interactions easily characterizable by analytical techniques such as infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, or HPLC [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. However, the procedure can become complicated, hardly scalable, and challenging to reproduce.…”

Recent Advances in Fiber–Hydrogel Composites for Wound Healing and Drug Delivery Systems

“…Hybrid polymers can result from the total or part combination of natural and synthetic polymers. As is the case of the combination of the PLGA (synthetic polymer) and the CS (natural polymer) that result in the PLGA-CS hybrid polymer that has been studied in several areas, namely in therapeutic delivery [ 19 ]. The choice of polymers for the formation of scaffolds, based on their characteristics, has proved to be crucial in the properties and applicability of the final scaffold.…”