Potential 5-Fluorouracil Encapsulated mPEG-Chitosan Nanogels for Controlling Drug Release

Aims: The objective of this study was to prepare and characterize poly (ethylene glycol) methyl ether (mPEG)-conjugated chitosan (CS) nanogels, mPEG-CS, at different molar ratios for 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) delivery (5-FU-loaded mPEG-CS nanogels).

Study Design: The chemical cross-linking of those polymers were synthesized by using 4-Nitrophenyl chloroformate as coupling reagent.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biomaterials & Bioengineering, Institute of Applied Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, between February and June 2015.

Methodology: The chemical structure of mPEG-CS was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR).

Results: The particle sizes of 5-FU-loaded nanogels were nearly spherical in shape with diameter range of 20-50 nm, determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Especially, whereas the encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of mPEG-CS nanogels were independent of the molar ratio of mPEG, there was one factor that particularly stand out, 5-FU release behavior.

Conclusion: These results demonstrated that mPEG-CS nanogels present potential for controlled release of 5-FU working as a delivery system in cancer therapy.