Polymer Science and Technology

Biography

Sabrina Belbekhouche is an Associate Professor (East Paris Institute of Chemistry And Materials Science/ University of Paris, France). Her core expertise is in polymer science, macromolecular assembly and surface modification. This includes the polymer synthesis; the study of the physi­cal chemistry of surfaces/interfaces; and the use of controlled assembly at the sub-micrometer scale (nanoparticle, nanocapsule.) as well as stim­uli-responsive systems. Current applications of her research are mainly for biological application.

Abstract

Recent progress in supramolecular chemistry leads to unparalleled control over the composition and shape factor of colloidal systems. Among them, the design of hollow capsules is a new expanding area of physical-chemical research. Herein, we report on the preparation of ultra-low sized (<100 nm in diameter) biodegradable polymeric capsules for potential applications as nanocontainers in antibiotic therapy. Hollow nanospheres based on the chitosan/ poly (acrylic acid) pair are elaborated via (i) the layer-by-layer technique using gold nanoparticles (20 and 60 nm in size) as sacrificial templates, (ii) loading with amoxicillin, a betalactam antibiotic, and (iii) removal of the gold core via cyanide-assisted hydrolysis. Size, dispersity and concentration of the resulting nanocapsules are easily fixed by the nanoparticle templates, while wall thickness is controlled by the number of polyelectrolyte bilayers. Electrostatic interactions between the protonated amine groups of chitosan and the carboxyl groups of poly(acrylic acid) act as the driving attraction force allowing easy and fast design of robust and well-ordered multilayer films. Successful hydrolysis of the gold core is evidenced by time-dependent monitoring of the gold spectroscopic signature (absorbance at 519 nm and 539 nm for the gold nanoparticles with 20 and 60 nm, respectively). Crosslinked capsules are also prepared through crosslinking of the chitosan chains with gluteraldehyde. Chitosan-based nanocapsules are finally evidenced to be promising drug delivery vehicles of amoxicillin trihydrate with tuneable properties such as entrapment efficiency in the range of 62-75% and 3.5-5.5% concerning the drug loading. The drug-loading content was up to 5%.