Nano-Architectonics of Antibiotic-Loaded Polymer Particles as Vehicles for Active Molecules

Recently, nanotechnology research studies have been proven that use of various nanoparticles as drug delivery systems to target and to annihilate pathogenic microorganisms may be a good solution for prevention and treatment of severe infection. In the last few years, antimicrobial drug encapsulation into nano-sized systems has materialized as a promising alternative that increased drug efficacy and minimized adverse effects. Physicochemical properties of erythromycin-loaded polymer nanoparticles were assessed using particle size distribution, HPLC, FTIR, TG/DTA, and SEM characterization techniques. The as-prepared samples exhibited an average particle size of 340 and 270 nm, respectively, with erythromycin content of 99.7% in both samples. From the release profile of erythromycin from PLA/PLGA, a prolonged drug release can be observed from both Ery-PLA and Ery-PLGA nanostructures. Morphology images exhibited spherical, rigid, and ring-shaped nanoparticles. Thermal analytical study in the case of Ery-PLA and Ery-PLGA samples showed that pure drug has an endothermic peak at around 150 degrees C assigned to a melting point. The antibiotic melting peak disappeared for both antibiotic-loaded PLA and PLGA nanoparticles thermographs, denoting the presence of erythromycin. This indicates that the antibiotic is uniformly dispensed throughout the host polymer matrix at nanometer scale. FTIR spectra of Ery-PLA and Ery-PLGA nano-architectures with almost similar peaks indicated no alteration in chemical structure of drug-loaded polymer nanoparticles.