Influence of Chitosan Layer on the Properties of Surface Modified Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) Nanoparticles

Abstract

The present study investigates the effect of chitosan coating layer on the properties of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles. Two concentrations of chitosan (0.1% and 0.5%) as well as two procedures, namely coating or post-coating were developed. The size of all chitosan modified particles was larger than the size of nonmodified PLGA-nanoparticles. The surface charge of the modified nanoparticles was positive (up to +57.0 mV) compared to the negative charge of PLGA-nanoparticles (−23.6 mV). The positive charge of all types of the modified particles decreased drastically 6 hours after incubation with a mucin, suggesting the electrostatic mechanism of their interaction.

Keywords:

• Chitosan
• coating
• mucoadhesion
• nanoparticles
• surface charge

This research was supported by the Fund for Scientific Research – Flanders (F.W.O. Vlaanderen).