Novel Drug Delivery System Based on Ginsenoside Rb1 Loaded to Chitosan/Alginate Nanocomposite Films

Abstract

<jats:p>Recently, drug delivery using natural and biodegradable nanoparticles has attracted huge attention. This study focused to deliver an anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drug Ginsenoside Rb1 through chitosan-Alginate nanocomposite film prepared by solution method. Ginsenoside Rb1 is a dammaran saponin group, which is extracted from an herbaceous plant <jats:italic>Panax notoginseng</jats:italic>. Ginsenoside loaded alginate-chitosan nanocomposite films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The FTIR spectra of alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films show that chitosan, alginate, and ginsenoside Rb1 are linked through the hydrogen bonding and dipolar–dipolar interactions. The FESEM image indicates that the chitosan and ginsenoside Rb1 dispersed well in the alginate matrix. The DSC diagrams display that melting temperature of alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films higher than that of chitosan and lower than that of alginate. It means that alginate and chitosan interact together. Investigation of the ginsenoside Rb1 release from alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films at different pH solutions and different ginsenoside Rb1 content has been carried out by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy method. The rate of drug release is proportional to the increase in pH solution and inversely proportional to the content of loaded ginsenoside Rb1. The Rb1 release process includes two stages: burst release in the first 10 hours, then constant release afterwards. The suitable ratio of alginate/chitosan to prepare the alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films for further investigations was found out to be 8:2. Ginsenoside Rb1 release process from alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films was believed to be first-order kinetics in the first stage, and then the Rb1 release complies with Higuchi kinetic model in the slow release stage. This study demonstrated the novel synthesis methodology to design drug delivery system based on ginsenoside Rb1 loaded to chitosan/alginate nanocomposite films.</jats:p>

Assessment of the Role of Ginsenoside RB1 Active Substance in Alginate/Chitosan/Lovastatin Composite Films

“…FTIR Spectra. Figure 1 presents the FTIR spectra of AC82L10Rx composite films while the FTIR spectra of CS, AG, LOV, and Rb1 are shown in our previous articles [8,17,[19][20][21][22]; therefore, they were not presented here. From Figure 1, it can be seen that the characteristic peaks of AG, CS, LOV, and ginsenoside Rb1 appeared in the FTIR spectra of AC82L10Rx composite films.…”

“…In our previous study, we prepared and investigated the characteristics, morphology of the AG/CS/LOV composite films, and ability to control in vitro drug release from these composite films [8,[19][20][21][22]. The results indicated that the AG/CS ratio of 4/1 and the LOV content of 10 wt.% (compare with the mass total of AG and CS) were most suitable for preparation of the AG/CS/LOV composite film.…”

“…This film had higher drug loading ability, thermal stability, and better control drug release in comparison with the films which use a different AG/CS ratio and LOV content [19]. Although the compatibilizers were used to improve the compatibility of components in AG/CS/LOV composite films, LOV bars in the composite films are still quite large in size [8,19,20,22] and the LOV release process from the composites in buffer solutions was difficult to control in the early hours of testing [19,21]. The question here is how to improve the LOV dispersion in AG/CS blend and control the drug release from the AG/CS/LOV films better.…”

Natural polyelectrolyte complex‐based pH‐dependent delivery carriers using alginate and chitosan

“…Polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) are structured via interactions between polymers possessing oppositely charged groups and are an attractive delivery platform to load water‐soluble or charged molecules such as drugs, proteins, and genes . The complexation behaviors of PECs consisting of counterionic synthetic polymers have been primarily investigated.…”

“…However, it is challenging to obtain high loading capability and controlled/desired release of PECs using natural polyelectrolytes. To date, using natural polyelectrolytes, for example, alginate, and chitosan, several approaches to incorporate drug have been developed by layer‐by‐layer coating and using crosslinkers . Herein, we are interested in preparing the complex between counterionic polyelectrolytes without additional crosslinkers and studying fundamental complexation behaviors of PECs and thereof loading release profiles which have been rarely carried out.…”