2026/01/01 by Muhammet Ali Çakır · 1 voice
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Advanced Drug Delivery Systems #Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications #Drug Solubulity and Delivery Systems
paper · pdf · doi:10.1515/gps-2025-0169
openalex publication_date 2026/01/01 · openalex created_date 2026/03/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Carvacrol-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CCNPs) were prepared by oil-in-water emulsification followed by a fully aqueous, solvent-free ionic gelation. A two-level fractional factorial design (2 5−1 ) was used to model particle size, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency (EE), and a multi-response desirability function identified the optimum. The validated formulation showed a hydrodynamic size of 386.20 ± 50.42 nm, a zeta potential of 30.52 ± 0.67 mV, an EE of 57.93 ± 0.42 %, and a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.392 ± 0.01 (overall desirability = 0.934), yielding a colloidally stable, water-dispersible nanosuspension. Carvacrol release over 72 h was pH-dependent and faster in acetate buffer (pH 3.0) than in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4). Release profiles were best described by first-order and Higuchi models. Consistently, the time to 50 % DPPH inhibition (t 50 ) was shorter at pH 3.0 than at pH 7.4 (39.8 h vs 45.9 h). Dose–response assays indicated a lower half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) for CCNPs than for free carvacrol (0.40 vs 0.55 mg mL −1 ), whereas blank nanoparticles showed negligible scavenging (IC 50 = 132.5 mg mL −1 ). In disc diffusion tests against foodborne pathogens, CCNPs produced larger inhibition zones than blank chitosan nanoparticles. Overall, a positively charged, stable, water-dispersible nanosystem with sustained, pH-responsive release and preserved antioxidant and antibacterial activities was obtained via a green, solvent-free process.