Aggregation behaviour of tetracaine hydrochloride with Gemini surfactants and the formation of silver nanoparticles using drug-Gemini surfactants mixture

This study aimed to encapsulate drug into the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by using drug-Gemini surfactant mixed aggregate. The applicability of drug-surfactant based AgNPs is to carry the maximum amount of drug during the drug delivery process. The nano-size mixed aggregate was prepared by a local anaesthetic amphiphilic drug, tetracaine hydrochloride (TC) and Gemini surfactants, pentamethylene-1, 5-bis(tetradecyldimethylammonium bromide) (GS-5, 14-5-14) and hexamethylene-1,6-bis(tetradecyldimethylammonium bromide) (GS-6, 14-6-14). Surface tension and conductance measurements were used to determine the physiological and thermodynamic interaction parameters of TC-GS-5/GS-6. The negative βm values suggested as the synergistic interactions observed between TC and GS-5/GS-6 mixed aggregate. The TC-GSs mixture was used to stabilizing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with a different mole fraction αTC 0.0–0.99 in aqueous media. The resulting AgNPs characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Dynamic light scattering (DLS) suggested that the different types of aggregate formed in aqueous media depending on the internal packing arrangements of TC-GS-5/GS-6. The mole fraction base formulation of drug-surfactant could control the mixed aggregates which could be used to formed drug-surfactant based nanoparticles to enhance the performance of drug delivery.