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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
Preparation and Characterization of Individual and Multi-drug Loaded Physically Entrapped Polymeric Micelles
Published on: August 28, 2015
Anandamide-loaded nanoparticles: preparation and characterization
M R Aberturas1, D Hernán Pérez de la Ossa, M E Gil
1Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.
Objective:
Preparation and characterization of anandamide (N-arachidonoyl-ethanolamine, AEA) loaded polycaprolactone nanoparticles (PCL NP) as a research tool to clarify the presence of an AEA transporter in cell membranes and to avoid AEA plastic adsorption and instability.
Materials And Methods:
High performance liquid chromatography and light scattering were used to determine encapsulation efficiency, particle size, drug release, permeability and stability.
Results:
A high encapsulation efficiency 96.05 ± 1.77% and a particle size of 83.52 ± 21.38 nm were obtained. Nearly 40% of AEA remained in the NP after a 99.9% dilution and only 50% was released after 24 h at 37 °C with a 99% dilution. PCL NP prevented the adsorption of the drug to polypropylene or polystyrene, but not to acrylic multiwell plates. Drug permeability through artificial membranes was low (10⁻⁷ to 10⁻⁸ cm/s) and was affected by the presence of NP. NP increased AEA stability in suspension (drug half-life 431 h vs. 12 h) and freeze-dried with 5% sucrose.
Conclusion:
This article presents the first study where stable AEA-loaded NP with high encapsulation efficiencies have been obtained.
