Formulation and characterization of Benzydamine loaded casein/chitosan nanocomplexes

Abstract

Abstract The objectives of the present study were to synthesize casein/chitosan nanocomplexes, which are able to immobilize and release Benzydamine in a controlled manner, and to investigate the influence of casein/chitosan ratio on their morphological, physico-chemical and drug carrier characteristics. The complexes were obtained by electrostatic interaction at pH 6, at which casein in negatively charged and chitosan is protonated. The yield of the complexation was the lowest for chitosan excess particles (18.4%) and increased to 83.5% for casein excess particles. The particle size varied in the range from 400 nm to several microns depending on the casein/chitosan ratio. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to assess the morphological properties of the nanocomplexes. It was found that the Benzydamine loading was minimal (15%) in the stoichiometric complex and maximal (30%) in complexes with casein/chitosan ratio 5:1. The mechanism of Benzydamine release was defined as Fickian diffusion.