Preparation and Quality Evaluation of Honokiol Nanoparticles Using a New Polysaccharide Polymer as its Carrier

Abstract

Objective: To improve solubility of Honokiol (HNK), Honokiol nanoparticles (HNK-NPs) were prepared by using a new biodegradable polysaccharide polymer as its carrier. Methods: HNK-NPs were prepared by hydrophilic polymer coagulation method, and the processing parameters were optimized according to average particle size and PDI by single factor experiment. The morphology of the optimized nanoparticles was investigated by TEM and the in vitro release was carried out to evaluate the optimized HNK-NPs. Results: The encapsulation efficiency and drug loading of the HNK-NPs were 77.75 ± 2.63% and 13.46 ± 0.39%. The obtained nanoparticles of HNK-NPs were spherical-like under the electron microscope with a mean particle size of 198.50 ± 0.01 nm and Zeta potential of −52.60 ± 1.00 mV, respectively. The in vitro release results showed that the cumulative release rates of nanoparticles were 48.28 ± 9.80% and 81.12 ± 4.35% within 2 h and 8 h, respectively which showed a stable release behavior. The average particle size and PDI of HNK-NPs solution prepared by hydrophilic polymer condensation method had no obvious change at 72h. Conclusion: HNK-NPs were successfully prepared by phase separation method. This new polysaccharide polymer should be an ideal carrier to help improving the solubility of HNK.