Encapsulation of Silymarin via chitosan- PLGA Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery

Abstract

The herbal extracts of Milk Thistle, known as silymarin, are used to treat liver diseases. Chitosan is a natural polymer with high biodegradability, which is used as a coating for many drugs to improve drug delivery. Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) is non-toxic and one of the most successful polymers used in drug delivery. In this study, in addition to silymarin loading in each of the coatings, a combination of polymeric coatings of chitosan and PLGA were used as carrier agents. The second stage is the rate of release and swelling in phosphate buffer solution     ( pH= 7.4), as well as the morphology of the coated drugs using FTIR and SEM. SEM images indicate that the particles obtained are spherical. In addition, by adding PLGA nanoparticles to the combination of chitosan nanoparticles and the drug, the density and integrity of the nanoparticles increase, and their size will be diminished due to the interaction between the molecules. By examining the percentages of encapsulation, chitosan showed the best results at lower concentrations, which is equal to 84 %. Also, with the addition of PLGA polymer, it also yields higher efficiency to reach 92 %. The results showed that PLGA nanoparticles delay the release of drug and increase drug's residence time inside the body. Generally, the presence of chitosan-PLGA increases the encapsulation efficiency, and as a result, the coating of nanoparticles of chitosan-PLGA can be a suitable polymeric carrier for releasing control, as well as delivering silymarin-based herbal drugs.