(447f) Simultaneous Encapsulating of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Poly-Lactide-Co-Glycolide Nanoparticles

The aim of this research was the development of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) made from the biocompatible polymer named poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). The PLGA nanoparticles were designed to encapsulate anti-inflammatory drugs (sodium diclofenac and dexamethasone) in order to study their efficiency over time compared to the administration of the free drugs. In free form, sodium diclofenac and dexamethasone generate severe adverse side effects with risks of toxicity. To reduce these drawbacks we carried out the encapsulation of these drugs to be used as controlled drug release systems of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs with the aim of obtaining an enhancement in the therapeutic efficacy and a reduction in the potential toxicity.

For the preparation of drug loaded NPs, we used a double emulsion modified technique with a water-miscible organic solvent (ethyl acetate) and a biocompatible anionic surfactant (sodium cholate). The characterization of the nanoparticles was carried out by using different analytical techniques such as dynamic light scattering (DLS) to measure the particle size distribution of the corresponding colloids and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to observe the morphology of the resulting particles. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared ray spectroscopy (FT-IR) studies to check some drug-polymer interactions. The assessment of the encapsulation efficiency was evaluated using LC-MS. The procedure to obtain PLGA NPs by using a double emulsion solvent diffusion protocol resulted in an improved method compared to the conventional synthesis, and demonstrated a superior efficiency in the encapsulation of both drugs within the nanoparticles. The resulting drug-loaded NPs showed small particle size, narrow size distribution, homogenous shape and high encapsulation loadings. Hence these results demonstrate that sodium diclofenac - dexamethasone - PLGA NPs, could be a potentially useful drug delivery system in antiinflamatory applications.