pH dependent conjugation of Ibuprofen to PEGylated nanoparticles

In this paper, Ibuprofen, a water insoluble drug was covalently attached to PEGylated nanoparticles. Firstly, Surface functionalization of water dispersed core/shell nanoparticles had been done using hydrophilic polymer PEG-diamine. Therefore, PEGylated nanoparticles contain NH2 groups over the surface of nanoparticles and can be used for the further attachment of biomolecules. Ibuprofen was covalently loaded on the PEGylated core/shell nanoparticles using carbodiimide reaction. The synthesis had been carried out under two different pH environments, as the solubility of Ibuprofen is pH dependent. The resultant samples were characterized using UV-Vis absorption and FT-IR spectroscopy. The results strongly suggest the successful chemical conjugation of Ibuprofen to PEGylated nanoparticles in aqueous media and they could be further used for drug delivery applications.