Polymeric micelles of ammonium palmitoyl glycol chitosan and solubilization of camptothecin.

Chitosan is a polysaccharide possessing biodegradable and biocompatible properties. Chitosan and its derivatives are used as excipients in drug delivery, as mucoadhesive polymers, and as a permeation enhancer for drug delivery in vitro at mucosal epithelia; and micelles of chitosan derivatives are used for solubilization of hydrophobic drug. Twenty-five samples of ammonium palmitoyl glycol chitosan were synthesized after reacting glycol chitosan with palmitic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide and methyl iodide with different concentration of hydrophobic and hydrophilic component. The objective was to identify suitable combinations of hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity which dissolve maximum water-insoluble camptothecin drug. In conclusion, the more hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers are not suitable for solubilization of camptothecin.