Preparation and Characterization of Tripterygium wilfordii Multi-Glycoside Nanoparticle Using Supercritical Anti-Solvent Process

The aim of this study was to prepare nanosized Tripterygium wilfordii multi-glycoside (GTW) powders by the supercritical antisolvent precipitation process (SAS), and to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects. Ethanol was used as solvent and carbon dioxide was used as an antisolvent. The effects of process parameters such as precipitation pressure (15–35 MPa), precipitation temperature (45–65 °C), drug solution flow rates (3–7 mL/min) and drug concentrations (10–30 mg/mL) were investigated. The nanospheres obtained with mean diameters ranged from 77.5 to 131.8 nm. The processed and unprocessed GTW were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis. The present study was designed to investigate the beneficial effect of the GTW nanoparticles on adjuvant-induced arthritis in albino rats. The processed and unprocessed GTW were tested against Freund’s complete adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats. Blood samples were collected for the estimation of interleukins (IL-1α, IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). It was concluded that physicochemical properties and anti-inflammatory activity of GTW nanoparticles could be improved by physical modification, such as particle size reduction using supercritical antisolvent (SAS) process. Further, SAS process was a powerful methodology for improving the physicochemical properties and anti-inflammatory activity of GTW.