Synthesis and characterization of chitosan nanoparticles containing teicoplanin using sol–gel

Chitosan, as a natural polysaccharide, has a unique structure and multi-functional properties. One of the most prominent specifications of chitosan is high biocompatibility, good biodegradability, low toxicity and antibacterial and antiallergenicity properties. Chitosan has a high potential for controlled drug delivery. Therefore, investigating the loading capacity and release rate of chitosan at different conditions is important. By reducing particle size, chitosan has shown a high ability of teicoplanin loading due to its cationic property, which is important in this research. The aim of this study was to investigate chitosan nanoparticle potential for use in biomedical devices for drug delivery systems. Nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation with tripolyphosphate (TPP) ion, and the factors that affected chitosan nanoparticle size were investigated. The prepared samples were characterized using DLS, FTIR, TGA, DSC and XRD techniques. It is found at best condition with CS/TPP ratio of 2:1 nanoparticles were obtained at an average size of about 100 nm. The results confirmed that the drug (teicoplanin) loaded on the TPP cross-linked chitosan nanoparticles causes an increase in nanochitosan size and there was no interaction between teicoplanin and chitosan. Also, it is observed that 28.2% of teicoplanin was released in the first 10 h and the release is continued gradually to receive 37.4% in 100 h. Thus, it seems that chitosan nanoparticles mitigate the drug release and are suitable for sustained drug release.