Preparation of polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles of chitosan and poly(2-acry1amido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) for doxorubicin release

Abstract A new kind of polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) based on cationic chitosan (CS) and anionic poly(2-acry1amido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) was prepared using a polymer–monomer pair reaction system. Chitosan was mixed with 2-acry1amido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (AMPS) in an aqueous solution, followed by polymerization of AMPS. The complex was formed by electrostatic interaction of NH 3 + groups of CS and SO 3 − groups of AMPS, leading to a formation of complex nanoparticles of CS-PAMPS. A series of nanoparticles were obtained by changing the weight ratio of CS to AMPS, the structure and properties of nanoparticles were investigated. It was observed that the nanoparticles possessed spherical morphologies with average diameters from 255 nm to 390 nm varied with compositions of the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were used as drug vehicles for doxorubicin, displaying relative high drug loading rate and encapsulation rate. The vitro release profiles revealed that the drug release could be controlled by adjusting pH of the release media. The nanoparticles demonstrated apparent advantages such as simple preparation process, free of organic solvents, size controllable, good biodegradability and biocompatibility, and they could be potentially used in drug controlled release field.