Síntese, caracterização e avaliação do desempenho biológico de micropartículas polissacarídicas contendo nimesulida e azitromicina

Abstract

Oral administration of drugs, such as the anti-inflammatory nimesulide (NIM) and the antibacterial azithromycin (AZI), can cause adverse gastrointestinal effects. A technological strategy for mitigating these adverse effects is the combination of these drugs with polysaccharide-based delivery systems. In this work, we propose the synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of the biological performance of polysaccharide-based microparticles composed of sodium alginate (NaCHO) and chitosan (NCHO) cross-linked with

calcium chloride (CaCl2), for the drug delivery of NIM and AZI. The microparticles (NaCHO- NIM-CaCl2, NaCHO-AZI-CaCl2, NCHO-NIM-CaCl2, and NCHO-AZI-CaCl2) were produced

by adapting methods of calcium-induced ionotropic gelation, sonication, and solvent evaporation. The samples were characterized for their physicochemical properties using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). To complement the characterization, theoretical studies of vibrational and electronic properties were conducted using density functional theory (DFT). For proof of concept, cell viability assays and in vitro release studies were performed to evaluate the potential biological application of the microparticles.