Insight into chitosan/zeolite-A nanocomposite as an advanced carrier for levofloxacin and its anti-inflammatory properties; loading, release, and anti-inflammatory studies

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules 2021-05, Vol.179, p.206-216
• Main Authors: Mostafa, Merna, El-Meligy, Mohammed A., Sharaf, Mohamed, Soliman, Ahmed T., AbuKhadra, Mostafa R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-inflammation; Chitosan; Composite; Levofloxacin; Loading; Release; Zeolite
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.02.201

Chitosan/zeolite-A nanocomposite (CH/ZA) was synthesized as a potential carrier for levofloxacin (LVOX) of enhanced technical properties. The CH/ZA composite displayed enhanced loading capacity (425 mg/g) as compared to chitosan (188.8 mg/g) and zeolite-A (234.6 mg/g). The loading behavior follows Pseudo-Second-order and Langmuir as kinetic and isotherm models. The equilibrium studies, Gaussian energy (8.15 KJ/mol), and thermodynamic parameters demonstrate homogenous and monolayer loading by complex chemical and physical reactions that are of spontaneous and exothermic nature. The CH/ZA composite is of slow and continuous release profile (200h) with 94.3% as the maximum release percentage. The release reactions are of non-Fickian behavior involving both diffusion and erosion mechanisms. The loading of LVOX into CH/ZA induced its anti-inflammatory effect against the cytokine production (IL-6 and IL-8) within the human bronchial epithelia cells (NL20). The cytotoxicity studies on the normal cells demonstrated a high safety value for the composite.