Degradab
le aceta
lated dextran (Ac-DEX) nanopartic
les were prepared and
loaded with a hydrophobic si
lver carbene comp
lex (SCC) by a sing
le-emu
lsion process. The resu
lting partic
les were characterized for morpho
logy and size distribution using scanning e
lectron microscopy (SEM), transmission e
lectron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic
light scattering (DLS). The average partic
le size and partic
le size distribution were found to be a function of the ratio of the organic phase to the surfactant containing aqueous phase with a 1:5 vo
lume ratio of Ac-DEX CH
2C
l2 (organic):PBS (aqueous) being optima
l for the formu
lation of nanopartic
les with an average size of 100 卤 40 nm and a
low po
lydispersity. The SCC
loading was found to increase with an increase in the SCC quantity in the initia
l feed used during partic
le formu
lation up to 30% (w/w); however, the encapsu
lation efficiency was observed to be the best at a feed ratio of 20% (w/w).
In vitro efficacy testing of the SCC
loaded Ac-DEX nanopartic
les demonstrated their activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria; the nanopartic
les inhibited the growth of every bacteria
l species tested. As expected, a higher concentration of drug was required to inhibit bacteria
l growth when the drug was encapsu
lated within the nanopartic
le formu
lations compared with the free drug i
llustrating the desired depot re
lease. Compared with free drug, the Ac-DEX nanopartic
les were much more readi
ly suspended in an aqueous phase and subsequent
ly aeroso
lized, thus providing an effective method of pu
lmonary drug de
livery.
Keywords:
les&qsSearchArea=searchText">Ac-DEX particles; dextran; lver+carbene+complexes&qsSearchArea=searchText">silver carbene complexes; l&qsSearchArea=searchText">antimicrobial; le&qsSearchArea=searchText">degradable; lmonary+diseases&qsSearchArea=searchText">pulmonary diseases