Encapsulation of acalypha indica extract in chitosan-polycaprolactone blend

Abstract

Polymer encapsulation is commonly adopted in drug delivery systems to form encapsulation that can assist in delivering active compound to the targeted area. Acalypha indica (AI) crude extract was obtained from AI plants through ultrasound assisted extraction, is naturally unstable in external environment, thus need to be encapsulated to protect against volatility. Chitosan has promising properties good for drug carriers. Herein, this study emphasized the development of the encapsulations of AI extracts using ratio of chitosan: PCL concentration, PVA concentration , and Concentration of chitosan-PCL blend) The percentage of encapsulation efficiency (EE%) was recorded as a response for each parameter. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), particle size analyzer, and zeta potential were used to analyze the properties of selected microencapsulated (-24.0 and -26 mV). 2.631 ± 0.14 and 3.568 ± 1.35 respectively. Overall, the encapsulation of (AI) extracts was successful and has the potential to be applied in drug delivery.