Multilayer nanocapsules of polysaccharide chitosan and alginate through layer-by-layer assembly directly on PS nanoparticles for release.

Polysaccharide multilayer nanocapsules have been fabricated in aqueous media by the layer-by-layer self-assembly of chitosan (CHI) and sodium alginate (ALG) on monodisperse polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles with a diameter of 180 nm as template, followed by removal of the templates through dissolving in THF. The pH and added salt concentration of the polyelectrolyte deposition solutions were optimized to ensure the alternating deposition. Consequently, the most suitable pH values were found to be 6.0-8.0 for ALG and 3.5 for CHI and were used in the deposition. The concentration of added NaCl used in the adsorption solutions was 0.5 M, which led to an average thickness of about 13 nm for 5 bilayers of CHI/ALG shell-wall. zeta-potential indicated the stepwise and alternating adsorption of CHI and ALG to form multilayer film on the PS nanoparticles. The characteristic bands of PS residue almost disappeared in the IR spectrum of the nanocapsule after dipped in THF, confirming thorough removal of PS templates from the core-shell particles. TEM, SEM and AFM were utilized to observe the nanocapsules of about 225 nm in diameter (by TEM). A hydrophilic drug model, acridine hydrochloride (AH), was chosen to investigate the loading and release properties of the nanocapsules. The positively charged AH spontaneously deposited into the capsule due to the electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged styrene sulfonate residues from the PS template inside the capsule. The rate of AH release became slightly slower when the capsule wall was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde, but the accumulative released amount for the cross-linked capsule was obviously reduced. These nanocapsules made from nature polysaccharides have a potential application in controlled drug release.