Use of Chitosan-Coated Conductive Copper/Nanoparticle Polymer in Drug Delivery System by Encapsulation Method

Abstract

In this study, 4-amino-3-hydroxy-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid was polymerized by the oxidative polymerization method. Copper nanoparticles of the synthesized PSa were prepared with copper sulfate solution. Structural analysis of the synthesized compounds were determined by FTIR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR measurements. Its optical properties were measured by UV–Vis spectrophotometer, thermal analysis by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG) device, morphological properties by scanning electron microscope (SEM) device, and crystallographic properties by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) device. Additionally, HOMO–LUMO band gaps were calculated by determining oxidation-reduction peak potential values with the Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) device. Since CuNPs@PSa shows very good antimicrobial properties against some yeasts and bacteria, its usability in drug release was investigated. For this, Ch–CuNPs@PSa encapsulation study was carried out by coating CuNPs@PSa with chitosan (Ch). Encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, and in vitro release kinetics were calculated. As a result, it was observed that chitosan encapsulation increased the antimicrobial effect against bacteria and yeasts and achieved the release in a controlled manner. It has been determined that Ch–CuNPs@PSa can be used in drug delivery systems as it has an Encapsulation Efficiency (EE) of 98.70%, a Loading Capacity (LC) of 78.96% and a cumulative release of 98.84%. In this case, it can be said that the obtained Ch–CuNPs@PSa can be evaluated as effective in drug release studies.