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In this study two types of water-soluble βCD grafted chitosan were synthesized and compared based on similar degree of N-substitution of βCD moiety; QCD23-g-CS contained methylene spacer and QCDCA22-g-CS contained citric acid spacer. The QCD23-g-CS demonstrated greater eugenol (EG) encapsulation efficiency than that of QCDCA22-g-CS. The micelle-like assemblies of QCD23-g-CS led to slower release of EG while it did not observe in case of QCDCA22-g-CS. It was found that EG could absorb on chitosan backbone according to in silico modeling. Cytotoxicity of both derivatives against buccal mucosa cell is concentration-dependent. The QCDCA22-g-CS demonstrated stronger mucoadhesive response than that of QCD23-g-CS, due to hydrogen bonding according to mucin particle and SPR methods. Our results revealed that the spacer on both derivatives played an important role on binding affinity with EG, releasing profile and mucoadhesive property. These derivatives could be considered as promising carriers for mucosal delivery system., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Water-soluble β-cyclodextrin grafted with chitosan (CD-g-CS) was carried out by quaternizing the CD-g-CS with glycidyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (GTMAC) under mild acidic condition, corresponding to the quaternized CD-g-CS (QCD-g-CS). The degrees of substitution (DS) and quaternization (DQ), ranging from 5% to 23% and 66% to 80%, respectively, were determined by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Self-aggregates formation of all QCD-g-CSs were investigated in water using dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The result revealed that all QCD-g-CSs are able to form self-aggregates in water. Large particle sizes ranged from 800 to 3000nm were obtained by DLS while zeta-potentials were ranging from 25 to 40mV. AFM and TEM depicted a spherical shape with particle sizes ranging from 100 to 900nm. Mucoadhesive and cytotoxic properties of all QCD-g-CSs were evaluated using a mucin particle method and MTT assay compared to quaternized chitosan (QCS). It was found that the mucoadhesive property increased with decreasing DS due to less quaternary ammonium moiety into the chitosan backbone. On the other hand, the cytotoxicity increased with increasing DS even though the DQ is decreased., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The core-shell nanoparticles possessing poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) core coated with chitosan (CS), polyethyleneimine (PEI), and chitosan-mixed-polyethyleneimine (CS/PEI) shells were synthesized in this work. The emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization triggered by a redox initiating system from t-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) and amine groups on CS and/or PEI was used as a synthetic method. In the CS/PEI systems, the amount of CS was kept constant (0.5g), while the amount of PEI was varied from 0.1 to 0.5g. The surface and physico-chemical properties of prepared nanoparticles were then examined. FTIR spectra indicated the presence of grafted PMMA on CS and/or PEI, and the weight fraction of incorporated PEI in the CS/PEI nanoparticles. All nanoparticles were spherical in shape with uniform size distribution illustrated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The introduction of PEI to CS nanoparticles yielded the higher monomer conversion, grafting efficiency, and grafting percentage compared with the CS nanoparticles. The size of CS/PEI nanoparticles was smaller than the original CS and PEI nanoparticles, and tended to decrease with increasing amount of PEI introduced. The introduction of PEI also brought the higher colloidal stability to the nanoparticles as indicated by zeta-potential measurement and isoelectric point analysis. The nanoparticles exhibited a promising antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The nanoparticle-bacteria interaction was studied via SEM. The results suggested that they would be useful as effective antibacterial agents., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study intended to prepare iron oxide nanoparticle-entrapped chitosan (CS) nanoparticles for stem cell labeling. The nanoparticles were synthesized by polymerizing iron oxide nanoparticle-associated methacrylic acid monomer in the presence of CS. TEM revealed that the well-defined iron oxide nanoparticles were successfully encapsulated inside the CS nanoparticles. The effect of CS at different [NH(2)]/[COOH] molar ratios on particle size, surface charge, thermal stability and magnetic properties was determined systematically. Internalization and localization of the coated nanoparticles were evaluated by atomic absorption spectrometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The Kusa O cell line was chosen as a stem cell model. Interestingly, the uptake of iron oxide-entrapped CS nanoparticles was remarkably enhanced under magnetization and the nanoparticles were mostly located inside cellular compartments. It can be concluded that the iron oxide-entrapped CS nanoparticles have a strong potential for stem cell labeling.

This work investigated polyethyleneimine (PEI)-introduced chitosan (CS) (CS/PEI) nanoparticles as non-viral carrier of plasmid DNA for rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The CS/PEI nanoparticles were prepared by the emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate monomer induced by a small amount of t-butyl hydroperxide in the presence of different concentrations of PEI mixed with CS. The resulting nanoparticles were characterized by their surface properties and buffering capacity. In vitro gene transfection was also evaluated. The introduction of PEI affected the surface charge, dispersing stability and buffering capacity of the nanoparticles. The CS/PEI nanoparticles formed a complex upon mixing with a plasmid DNA of luciferase. The complex enhanced the level of gene transfection and prolonged the time period of expression for MSCs, compared with those of plasmid DNA-original CS and PEI nanoparticles. Cytotoxicity of CS/PEI complexes with plasmid DNA was significantly low, depending on the amount of PEI introduced. It is concluded that the CS/PEI nanoparticle was a promising carrier for gene delivery of MSCs.