ABSTRACT
AIM: To prepare polymethacrylate nanospheres and study the mechanism of breviscapine entrapped by polymethacrylate nanospheres. METHODS: Polymethacrylate nanospheres were prepared by microemulsion polymerization with SDS as surfactant, n-butanol as cosurfactant, MAA and BMA as monomer, TRIM as cross-linker and AIBN as initiator. Breviscapine added would be divided into two ways:prior to polymerization (encapsulation) and after polymerization (sorption), respectively. RESULTS: The size of the nanospheres was found to be 50nm by measuring with TEM. The ? potential of the nanospheres was -27.2 mv and it was increased after breviscapine being entrapped. The drug content entrapped in nanospheres was proportional to the drugs amount added in encapsulation method while the drug content in nanospheres was increased step by step in sorption method. CONCLUSION: The polymethacrylate nanospheres prepared by microemulsion polymerization could be applied to encapsulate hydrophobic traditional Chinese medicine extracts.