In vivo study of mPEG–PCL as a nanocarriers for anti-inflammatory drug delivery of simvastatin

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, methoxy poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (ε-caprolactone) (mPEG–PCL) di-block copolymers were synthesized. The purpose of this work is to investigate the in vivo anti-inflammatory effects of simvastatin-loaded micelles.

Methods: The structure of synthesized copolymers was characterized by using HNMR, FTIR, and GPC techniques. Simvastatin was encapsulated in micelles through a single-step nano-precipitation method, leading to the formation of simvastatin-loaded mPEG–PCL (simvastatin-mPEG–PCL) micelles. In this study, the anti-inflammatory effects of simvastatin/mPEG–PCL micelles versus indomethacin were investigated in acute inflammation-induced rats. The paw edema thickness was measured 1, 2, 3, and 4 h after injection of formulation. The inhibition of edema in various groups were calculated and reported by percentages.

Results: The results showed that the zeta potential of micelles was about −14.9 ± 0.47 mV and the average size was in range of 66.10 ± 0.34 nm. Simvastatin was encapsulated in mPEG–PCL micelles with a loading capacity of 9.63 ± 0.87% and an encapsulation efficiency of 64.20 ± 0.79%. Simvastatin and simvastatin-mPEG–PCL micelles showed significant anti-inflammatory activity in the present study.

Conclusions: This study revealed that simvastatin and simvastatin/mPEG–PCL micelles both have anti-inflammatory effects and suggested that statins have potential anti-inflammatory activity along with their lipid lowering properties.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• mPEG–PCL
• anti-inflammatory
• simvastatin
• drug delivery
• nanocarriers

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported financially by the Faculty of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran [grant no. A-12-430-1].