Preparation and Characterization of a Propofol-loaded Polymeric Micellar System: Nanoparticular Stability

A propofol delivery system was prepared using two biocompatible polymeric surfactants, poloxamer 407 and PEG 400. The nanoparticular stability of the micellar system was evaluated in terms of temperature change, storage time and composition. The particle size of the system was slightly increased with elevating temperature from $4^{\circ}C$ to $25^{\circ}C$, but its distribution was unimodal. At $40^{\circ}C$, the system presented a bimodal particle size distribution and the increase in the fraction of particles larger than 15 nm. This result might be due to the expansion of the nanoparticles through micellar swelling at the high temperature. It was found that propofol was gradually come out of the system, stored for a month at three different temperatures (4, 25 and $40^{\circ}C$). The drug loss was apparently dependent on temperature and the system composition. Increasing temperature induced the acceleration of the drug loss of $7{\sim}10%$ at $4^{\circ}C$ and $14{\sim}16 %$ at $40^{\circ}C$. This may be owing to the high diffusivity resulting from the swelling of the hydrophilic surface of the nanoparticle at high temperature. However, the addition of PEG 400 to the system led to the reduction of the drug loss. This result is associated with the previous investigation that PEG coverage decreased diffusion coefficient because of the formation of the denser structure on the surface of nanoparticulate. Nevertheless, the limited amount of PEG, less than 2% (w/v), should be used to prevent the precipitation and discoloration of the system.