Calcium phosphate nanocarriers dual-loaded with bovine serum albumin and ibuprofen: facile synthesis, sequential drug loading and sustained drug release

Abstract

A simple and green strategy is reported for the preparation, drug loading, and release properties of a drug delivery system consisting of calcium phosphate (CP) nanocarriers dual-loaded with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and hydrophobic drug ibuprofen (IBU). The sequential loading of BSA and IBU in calcium phosphate nanocarriers and in vitro simultaneous release of BSA and IBU are realized and investigated. In this method, BSA, which is used as a model protein drug, is encapsulated in situ in calcium phosphate nanocarriers. Subsequently, the typical hydrophobic drug IBU is loaded in the BSA/CP drug delivery system, forming the IBU/BSA/CP dual drug delivery system. The experiments reveal that the preloaded BSA not only reduces the cytotoxicity of calcium phosphate nanocarriers but also significantly improves the IBU drug loading capacity in calcium phosphate nanocarriers and greatly extends the duration of drug release. Thus, the as-prepared IBU/BSA/CP dual drug delivery system is promising for drug delivery applications.