Fabrication and characterization of hydrocortisone loaded Dextran-Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic acid micelle

A nanomicelle based drug delivery systems is a formulation that can improve the bioavailability and dissolution rate of water-insoluble drugs. In this study, the Dextran-Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid copolymer was synthesized with esterification reaction, confirmed using the fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. The used method for nanomicelle preparation was nanoprecipitation and the critical micelle concentration value was obtained 10 μg/mL. The particle size of the nanomicelle was less than 100 nm ± 4 nm with narrow size distribution (Polydispersity index = 0.06). Hydrocortisone was loaded to this system. The obtained results for the encapsulation efficiency were 79%, and the drug release was adjusted to a first-order kinetic model with 90% release of drug within the 12 h. The MTT assay showed that even in the high concentration of micelle, the cell viability was remained higher than 90%. Considering the toxicity investigation findings, the Dextran-Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid micellar systems can be suggested as a considerable drug delivery system in hydrocortisone pharmaceutical dosage forms. Micelle; Copolymer; Hydrocortisone; MTT assay; Physics; Materials science; Chemistry; Biological sciences; Health sciences.