Ibuprofen loaded gelatin-siloxane gels prepared by supercritical CO2-assisted impregnation/deposition for controlled drug release and tissue engineering

• Published in: The Journal of supercritical fluids 2025-04, Vol.218, p.106511, Article 106511
• Main Authors: do Nascimento, Ulisses Silva, Neves, Carolina Kafka, Santos, Erik Felix dos, Ezegbe, Chekwube Andrew, Rezende, Laurent Rodrigues, Marchi, Juliana, Lombello, Christiane Bertachini, Maia-Obi, Lígia Passos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Controlled release; Gelatin scaffolds; Ibuprofen; Supercritical impregnation
• ISSN: 0896-8446
• DOI: 10.1016/j.supflu.2024.106511

Gelatin-based gels are suitable for biomedical applications and have potential to be impregnated using scCO2 thanks mainly to their morphology. Aiming to obtain ibuprofen loaded gelatin-siloxane cryogels suitable for controlled drug release and tissue engineering, the impregnation/deposition of the drug was studied in both cryogels and xerogels in scCO2 at 25 MPa and 35 °C, by varying its concentrations and the amount of co-solvent. The obtained samples were evaluated by FTIR, SEM, drug release and cytotoxicity studies. For the xerogels, the ibuprofen dispersed in the matrix, while for cryogels, additionally, it was deposited as flake-like particles inside their pores, thus presenting a higher drug load. Increasing the ibuprofen concentration and using 3 %v/v of co-solvent, increases the drug load. An extended release was observed for gels with sufficient drug load and no significative cytotoxicity was observed, showing that these gels can be applied as multifunctional scaffolds. [Display omitted] •Gelatin-siloxane gels were successfully loaded with ibuprofen using scCO2.•Both impregnation and deposition occur during the supercritical processing gel.•The gel morphology, ibuprofen and co-solvent concentrations influence the drug load.•Impregnated gels presented extended release and can be used as biomaterials.