Elaboration of chitosan-coated nanoparticles loaded with curcumin for mucoadhesive applications

Polycaprolactone (PCL) nanoparticles decorated with a mucoadhesive polysaccharide chitosan (CS) containing curcumin were developed aiming the buccal delivery of this drug. These nanoparticles were prepared by the nanoprecipitation method using different molar masses and concentrations of chitosan and concentrations of triblock surfactant poloxamer (PEO-PPO-PEO), in order to optimize the preparation conditions. Chitosan-coated nanoparticles showed positive surface charge and a mean particle radius ranging between 114 and 125 nm, confirming the decoration of the nanoparticles with the mucoadhesive polymer, through hydrogen bonds between ether and amino groups from PEO and CS, respectively. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) studies at different scattering angles and concentrations have shown that the nanoparticles are monodisperse (polydispersity indices were lower than 0.3). The nanoparticle systems were also examined with Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA), and the results were in good agreement with those obtained by DLS. Colloidal systems showed mean drug content about 460 μg/mL and encapsulation efficiency higher than 99%. Finally, when coated with chitosan, these nanoparticles show a great ability to interact with mucin indicating also their suitability for mucoadhesive applications.