α-Tocopherol-loaded nanoparticles based on chitosan as potential tools in psoriasis treatment

Abstract

α-Tocopherol-loaded nanoparticles based on chitosan have been produced by using two different methods: microemulsification and membrane emulsification combined with cross-linking reaction. The membrane emulsification is an innovative technology for the production of uniform particles with tuned size and high encapsulation efficiency (EE%) able to operate in mild operative conditions in order to preserve the functional properties of bioactive ingredients. Due to the intrinsic functional properties of the individual materials (i.e. antioxidant, emollient, immunosuppressive activity) and considering the positive synergy resulting from their combined formulation the produced nanoparticles can be used for the topical treatment of psoriasis in order to overcome the side effects typical of a systemic therapy. The microemulsification was used as technique to prepare in a conventional way the α-tocopherol-loaded nanoparticles that was compared to those obtained by means of membrane emulsification method. The membrane-based technology demonstrated high potential for the development of α-Tocopherol-loaded nanoparticles with high degree of uniformity (PDI lower than 0.2), EE of almost 100% and good mechanical strength. The nanoparticles have been also used for cyclosporine encapsulation (EE = 65%) demonstrating their possible use as drug delivery systems for psoriasis treatment taking advantage of both the properties of the newly synthesized material and the technology used for the preparation of the carrier. The membrane emulsification technique results a good candidate for the production of functional nanostructured materials for drug delivery.