Journal of Chemical Engineering & Process Technology
Open Access

Abstract

Nanoencapsulation of Insulin Using Blends of Biodegradable Polymers and In Vitro Controlled Release of Insulin

Vida Rahmani, Kayghobad Shams and Hamidreza Rahmani

The purpose of this study was achieving an optimum formulation with low initial burst and steady-state release of insulin from the nanoparticles prepared with different blends of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), polylactic acid (PLA), poly(?-caprolactone) (PCL) and Eudragit® RS100 polymers. Insulin was encapsulated in different blends of these polymers using W/O/W double emulsion technique. Methylene chloride was used as the organic solvent and poly(vinyl alcohol) was used as the stabilizer in the external aqueous phase. The prepared nanoparticles revealed high encapsulation efficiencies (average 81.0%), showing that different compositions of the polymers did not have much effect on encapsulation efficiencies and loading capacities. AFM analyze showed a minimum particle size of 300 nm and maximum particle size of 900 nm. The in vitro release profiles indicated that the PLGA/PLA: 45%/55% blend was the optimum mixture, which its insulin release profile had the minimum initial burst, followed by a smooth and uniform drug release. The in vitro release profiles were modeled with the Higuchi and Diffusion model and were in better agreement with the diffusion model. In conclusion, the appropriate blend of these polymers might be interesting for drug encapsulation and its release pattern for further researches.