drug delivery and “Performance comparison of two herbal and industrial medicines using nanoparticles with a starch/cellulose shell and alginate core for drug delivery: In vitro studies

In this study, the performance of two kinds of industrial and herbal drugs encapsulated in nanoparticles with a shell of starch and cellulose and an alginate core were examined as a new technique for nanoparticle drug delivery. The test method involved creating a suspension of starch and alginate, which was then dried, mixed with cellulose, and heated to form core-shell nanoparticles. The industrial drug calcitonin and an extract of the herb Amaranthus retroflexcus L. were added separately and in combination to the nanoparticles, and the performance of each configuration was evaluated. Variables like shape, size of nanoparticle, and pH were examined for their effect in vitro. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed for optimization of parameters. The properties of the nanoparticles were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The most optimal conditions for formation of the smallest nanoparticles were found to be pH 4 with a concentration of 0.15 g starch, 0.04 g alginate, and 0.01 g cellulose, which resulted in a spherical nanoparticle size of 25.6–68.7 nm. This novel method for helping bone regeneration offers a potentially major advance in the medical treatment of osteoporosis. The results of optimization indicated that the most optimal conditions of the tests were performed at pH 4, CA = 0.04, CS = 0.21, and CC = 0.01. In acidic pH the size of nanoparticles was less than 100 nm.