Novel pH responsive polymethacrylic acid-chitosan-polyethylene glycol nanoparticles for oral peptide delivery

In present study, novel pH sensitive polymethacrylic acid-chitosan-polyethylene glycol (PCP) nanoparticles were prepared under mild aqueous conditions via polyelectrolyte complexation. Free radical polymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA) was carried out in presence of chitosan (CS) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) using a water-soluble initiator and particles were obtained spontaneously during polymerization without using organic solvents or surfactants/steric stabilizers. Dried particles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and particles dispersed in phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) were visualized under transmission electron microscope (TEM). SEM studies indicated that PCP particles have an aggregated and irregular morphology, however, TEM revealed that these aggregated particles were composed of smaller fragments with size less than 1 micron. Insulin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) as model proteins were incorporated into the nanoparticles by diffusion filling method and their in vitro release characteristics were evaluated at pH 1.2 and 7.4. PCP nanoparticles exhibited good protein encapsulation efficiency and pH responsive release profile was observed under in vitro conditions. Trypsin inhibitory effect of these PCP nanoparticles was studied using casein substrate and these particles displayed lesser inhibitory effect than reference polymer carbopol. Preliminary investigation suggests that these particles can serve as good candidate for oral peptide delivery.