Polymeric micelle composed of PLA and chitosan as a drug carrier

Water soluble chitosan (CS) oligomer was hydrophobically modified with PLA unit. The chemical structure and physical properties of CS derivatives were confirmed by FTIR, 1HNMR, TGA and X-RD. Formation and characteristics of polymeric micelles of graft copolymers were studied by fluorescence spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS) method. To estimate the feasibility as novel drug carriers, the copolymer micelles were prepared by the phase separation-dialysis method. Rifampin was incorporated into polymeric micelles as a lipophilic model drug to investigate the drug release behavior. As PLA weight ratio increased, the micelle size and drug-loading content increased, and the drug release rate decreased.