Norfloxacin release from polymeric micelle of poly(γ-benzyl L-glutamate) poly(ethylene oxide) poly(γ-benzyl L-glutamate) block copolymer

Block copolymers consisting of poly(gamma-benzyl L-glutamate) (PBLG) as the hydrophobic part and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as the hydrophilic part were synthesized and characterized. Polymeric micelles of the block copolymers (abbreviated GEG) were prepared by a dialysis method. The GEG block copolymers were associated in water to form polymeric micelles, and the critical micelle concentration (CMC) values of the block copolymers decreased with increasing PBLG chain length in the block copolymers. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations revealed polymeric micelles of spherical shapes. From dynamic light scattering (DLS) study, sizes of polymeric micelles of GEG-1, GEG-2, and GEG-3 copolymer were 106.5+/-59.2 nm, 79.4+/-46.0 nm, and 37.9+/-13.3 nm, respectively. The drug loading contents of GEG-1, GEG-2 and GEG-3 polymeric micelles were 12.6, 11.9, and 11.0 wt %, respectively. These results indicated that the drug-loading contents were dependent on PBLG chain length in the copolymer; the longer the PBLG chain length, the more the drug-loading contents. Release of norfloxacin (NFX) from the nanoparticles was slower in higher loading contents of NFX than in lower loading contents due to the hydrophobic interaction between PBLG core and NFX.