Electrospray doxorubicin-loaded polycaprolactone-polyethylene glycol nanospheres/poloxamer-chitosan thermogel: A promising candidate for clinical applications

In recent years, polymer nanospheres have been considered as one of the most common materials in the drug delivery domain. In this research, polycaprolactone-polyethylene glycol (PCL-PEG) blend nanospheres were produced using the electrospray method to load doxorubicin. Also, these nanospheres can be used for injection in the treatment site by poloxamer-chitosan thermogel. In this research, PCL and PEG were used as raw materials to produce nanospheres. Then, doxorubicin was used for loading in nanospheres. The electrospray method was chosen as the method of nanosphere production. In the next step, poloxamer-chitosan thermogel was used for injection at the treatment site. In this method, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and rheometer techniques were used to identify the compounds and properties of the obtained specimens. Also, the MTT test was used to investigate toxicity. The results showed that PCL-PEG polymer nanospheres were produced by loading doxorubicin using the electrospraying method with a diameter of 185 ± 23 nm. Also, these nanospheres were used for injection in the treatment site using poloxamer-chitosan thermogel. The amount of drug release in the PLX-CS (DOX-PCL-PEG)NSs was 63% in 144 h at medium pH 5.5. In the drug release system, the in-vitro method was utilized to study the release of PLX-CS (DOX-PCL-PEG) NSs. PCL-PEG nanospheres combined in poloxamer-chitosan thermogel polymer showed the controlled release of doxorubicin, therefore, the evaluated drug release system is considered a valuable perspective as an efficient and safe route for drug delivery in the target tissue and treating various types of cancer. This research can be used as a new method in drug delivery systems.