Development and characterization of nanostructured lipid carriers based chitosan thermosensitive hydrogel for delivery of dexamethasone

This study aims to explore a novel composite thermosensitive in situ gelling formulation which the nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) was incorporated into hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (HACC)-based hydrogels, and the resulting formulation investigated for its potential to act as a potential sustained ocular delivery system. NLC formulation loaded with dexamethasone (DXM) were prepared using the melt-emulsification method. The particle size, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, and morphological properties of the NLC were characterized. The HACC was synthesized and structure was analyzed by FT-IR and 1H NMR. A thermosensitive hydrogel was designed and prepared by simply mixing HACC and β-glycerophosphate (β-GP). The obtained formulation showed a rapid solution-to-gel transition at 35°C. The NLC were then incorporated in HACC/β-GP hydrogel to form a NLC-loaded hydrogel carrier. In vitro release studies, 88.65% of total DXM was released from the NLC-HACC/GP gel within 3days, indicating DXM-based NLC-gel could release drug sustainably. Taken together, DXM-based NLC-HACC/GP gel is a promising drug delivery system.