Electrical-sensitive nanoparticle composed of chitosan and tetraethyl orthosilicate for controlled drug release

In the present study, the nanoparticles with size of 50-130 nm composed of chitosan (CS) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), which showed electrically-controlled release profile, were prepared. Myoglobin was encapsulated into the nanoparticles with an encapsulation efficiency as high as 91.5% and a maximum loading capacity of 70.2% that can be achieved. Here, TEOS was hydrolyzed and condensed to form interpenetration network with CS. Increase of TEOS content results in a shift of the release profile from swelling-controlled towards diffusion-controlled mechanism. The "slow-to-burst" and "near-zero" release of the myoglobin can be effectively controlled by applying DC electric field between "on" and "off".