Synthesis of Rifaximin Loaded Chitosan-alginate Core-shell Nanoparticles (Rif@CS/Alg-NPs) for Antibacterial Applications

The present work aims to synthesize the rifaximin loaded chitosan-alginate core-shell nanoparticles (Rif@CS/Alg-NPs) for antibacterial applications. The core-shell nanoparticles (Rif@CS/Alg-NPs) were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-rays diffraction (XRD) and zeta analyzer. The antibacterial activities of Rif@CS/Alg-NPs were investigated against three species of bacteria namely Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and Bacillus haynesii (BH). Rif@CS/Alg-NPs exhibited outstanding antibacterial activities against E. coli, P. aeroginosa and Bacillus haynesii (BH) with 24 mm, 30 mm and 34 mm zone of inhibitions, respectively. Cytotoxicity of Rif@CS/Alg-NPs was also evaluated against human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 and found to be nontoxic. The drug release behavior of Rif@CS/Alg-NPs was investigated at different pH levels and maximum drug release (80%) was achieved at pH (7.2). The drug release kinetic data followed the Higuchi (R = 0.9963) kinetic model, indicating the drug release from Rif@CS/Alg-NPs as a square root of time-dependent process and diffusion controlled. Current research provides a cost-effective and green approach toward the synthesis of Rif@CS/Alg-NPs for its antibacterial applications.