Table I.
Effect of Different Molecular Weights of Chitosan on the Drug Content, Loading Efficiency, and Particle Size of Insulin Nanoparticles and Comparison of Various Release Characteristics of Insulin from Different Nanoparticle Formulations
| Formulation | NP1 | NP2 | NP3 | NP4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chitosan type (Mw) | Low | Medium | High | Mix (low & high) 2:1 |
| Theoretical drug content (%) | 15.15 | 15.15 | 15.15 | 15.15 |
| Drug Loading (% ±SD) | 2.55 ± 0.25 | 3.07 ± 0.33 | 3.38 ± 0.45 | 1.91 ± 0.20 |
| Loading Efficiency (% ±SD) | 17.98 ± 3.21 | 23.65 ± 3.09 | 30.56 ± 2.76 | 28.0 ± 94.35 |
| Mean particle size (nm±SD) | 166.10 ± 1.70 | 189.36 ± 1.69 | 199.64 ± 1.72 | 135.76 ± 1.69 |
| aQ2 | 6.72 ± 0.33 | 15.27 ± 0.33 | 15.86 ± 0.57 | 10.38 ± 0.71 |
| bQ8 | 27.35 ± 2.87 | 48.35 ± 1.08 | 49.43 ± 2.42 | 36.62 ± 4.38 |
| ct 50%(h) | – | 8 | 8 | – |
| dDE | 11.48 | 26.37 | 27.40 | 18.34 |
| Similarity factor | 40.91 | 92.03 | –* | 50.78 |
NP1 Nanoparticles containing low MW chitosan; NP2 Nanoparticles containing medium MW chitosan; NP3 Nanoparticles containing high MW chitosan; NP4 Nanoparticles containing mixture (2:1) of low and high Mw chitosan
aQ2) amount of drug release after 2 h; bQ8) amount of drug release after 8 h; ct 50%) time for 50% dissolution. *NP3 was used as reference formulation for similarity factor determination.