Development, characterization and biological activity of alginate/chitosan/rifampicin nanoparticles

SCOLARI ROMINA; PAEZ P.; GRANERO GLADYS

Congreso; RICIFA, 4ta Reunión Internacional de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, octubre 2016; 2016

Rifampicin (RIF) is a semisynthetic antibiotic, having a wide antibacterial spectrum. It is a first line antibiotic to treat tuberculosis. It belongs to the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) class II, and as such, it has low aqueous solubility. It presents some stability problems, for instance: photosensitivity, pH acid hydrolysis and oxidation at pH values higher than 7,5.Nanocarrier systems or nanoparticles (NPs) are frequently defined as solid, colloidal particles within the range of 10 ? 1000 nm. The use of natural polymers in drug delivery systems, such as alginate (ALG) and chitosan (CS), has attracted a particular interest due to their desirable properties of biodegradability, bioadhesiveness, and hydrophilicity. Because of this, the objective of this study is to design RIF nanoparticle systems, containing ALG and CS.The resulting system was characterized by size, polydispersity index (PDI) and z potential (ζ). Through a dynamic light scattering technique. Afterwards, the percentage encapsulation efficiency (%EE) was determined, measuring RIF in the supernatant with a UV-visible spectrophotometer. Moreover, photomicrographs were taken using a SEM. FTIR spectrums were obtained using a FTIR spectrophotometer. Finally, agar plate diffusion assays were performed. The NPs presented a size of about 351,4 nm, a PDI= 0,236, ζ= -28,52 mV, and %EE= 48,65%. The morphology and particle size were confirmed by SEM. The FTIR spectrums demonstrated electrostatic interactions among the polymers. On the other hand, agar plate diffusion assays could provide evidence that RIF is capable of diffusing out of the NPs and maintaining its biological activity.