Preparation and physicochemical properties of chitosan broadleaf holly leaf nanoparticles.

To prepare chitosan broadleaf holly leaf nanoparticles and to investigate their physicochemical properties and drug release characteristics in vitro.Broadleaf holly leaf total flavonoids were extracted using an ethanol gradient and the determination of their contents was performed using a UV-vis spectrophotometer. Nanoparticles were prepared by ionic crosslinking. The morphology and distribution of the particles were examined. In addition, several factors affecting drug-loading and the encapsulation rate were explored. Furthermore, studies on the characteristics of in vitro release were performed.The content of total flavonoids from broadleaf holly leaf was 31.84%. The nanoparticles were spherical in shape, and the size range was between 100 and 600 nm. The polydispersity was 0.137. The optimal preparation process of the nanoparticles was the following: chitosan concentration 1 mg/ml, TPP concentration 1mg/ml, and concentration of broadleaf holly leaf total flavonoids 1 mg/ml. The in vitro release profile showed that the nanoparticles have an initial burst release effect of 45.6-48.9% within the first two hours. The total release was 91.9% in 24 h.Chitosan nanoparticles are a potential broadleaf holly leaf delivery system.