Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the potential of the bromocriptine (BRC) loaded chitosan nanoparticles for the treatment of Parkinson disease via intranasal delivery. Chitosan nanoparticles and BRC loaded chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation method and their optimization parameters such as chitosan (CS) to sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) mass ratio, stirring speed, pH of solution and CS concentration were examined systematically for their effects on particle size, particle size distribution and entrapment efficiency (EE). The mean particle size for chitosan nanoparticles and BRC loaded chitosan nanoparticles was found to be 157.4 +/- 7.64 nm and 161.3 +/- 4.73 nm respectively. The formulation with the initial BRC concentration of 0.5 mg/ml provided the highest %EE (84.26 +/- 3.56) and extent of release (87.80 +/- 2.43% at 24 h). Solid state characterization of BRC loaded chitosan nanoparticles were examined by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy and found to have a reduced or diminished crystallinity and a spherical morphology. The permeability coefficient of BRC loaded chitosan nanoparticles (0.9997 x 10(-2) cm(-2) h(-1)) was more as compared to drug solution (0.409 x 10(-2) cm(-2) h(-1)) through the nasal mucosa. Thus, BRC loaded chitosan nanoparticles emerge as promising systems for intranasal delivery, and in vivo behavior of these nanoparticulate carriers should be further evaluated in animal models for Parkinson disease.