Novel Drug Delivery System Based on Ginsenoside Rb1 Loaded to Chitosan/Alginate Nanocomposite Films

Recently, drug delivery using natural and biodegradable nanoparticles has attracted huge attention. This study focused to deliver an anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drug Ginsenoside Rb1 through chitosan-Alginate nanocomposite film prepared by solution method. Ginsenoside Rb1 is a dammaran saponin group, which is extracted from an herbaceous plant Panax notoginseng. Ginsenoside loaded alginate-chitosan nanocomposite films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The FTIR spectra of alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films show that chitosan, alginate, and ginsenoside Rb1 are linked through the hydrogen bonding and dipolar-dipolar interactions. The FESEM image indicates that the chitosan and ginsenoside Rb1 dispersed well in the alginate matrix. The DSC diagrams display that melting temperature of alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films higher than that of chitosan and lower than that of alginate. It means that alginate and chitosan interact together. Investigation of the ginsenoside Rb1 release from alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films at different pH solutions and different ginsenoside Rb1 content has been carried out by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy method. The rate of drug release is proportional to the increase in pH solution and inversely proportional to the content of loaded ginsenoside Rb1. The Rb1 release process includes two stages: burst release in the first 10 hours, then constant release afterwards. The suitable ratio of alginate/chitosan to prepare the alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films for further investigations was found out to be 8:2. Ginsenoside Rb1 release process from alginate/chitosan/ginsenoside Rb1 nanocomposite films was believed to be first-order kinetics in the first stage, and then the Rb1 release complies with Higuchi kinetic model in the slow release stage. This study demonstrated the novel synthesis methodology to design drug delivery system based on ginsenoside Rb1 loaded to chitosan/alginate nanocomposite films.