Synthesis and characterization of thermo- and pH-responsive bacterial cellulose/acrylic acid hydrogels for drug delivery

• Published in: Carbohydrate polymers 2012-04, Vol.88 (2), p.465-473
• Main Authors: Mohd Amin, Mohd Cairul Iqbal, Ahmad, Naveed, Halib, Nadia, Ahmad, Ishak
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acrylic acid; Applied sciences; Bacteria; Bacterial cellulose; Biological and medical sciences; Biopolymers; Carbohydrates; Cellulose; Cellulose and derivatives; cellulosic fibers; Drug delivery; Drug-delivery system; drugs; Electron-beam irradiation; Exact sciences and technology; Fibers; General pharmacology; hydrocolloids; Hydrogel; hydrogels; irradiation; Medical sciences; Natural polymers; Pharmaceutical technology. Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Physicochemistry of polymers; Pores; porosity; prediction; Reaction mechanisms; Swelling behavior
• ISSN: 0144-8617; 1879-1344
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2011.12.022

► Stable and biocompatible hydrogels can be synthesized from bacterial cellulose. ► Hydrogel characteristics can be adjusted by varying AA content and irradiation dose. ► Adjustable characteristics include gel fraction, density, porosity, and swelling. ► BC/AA hydrogels exhibit temperature- and pH-sensitive swelling behavior. ► BC/AA hydrogels are promising candidate drug-release systems for protein based drugs. To assist in identifying the utility of novel materials in drug-delivery applications, this study investigated the use of bacterial cellulose (BC), a natural biopolymer, in the synthesis of hydrogels for drug-delivery systems. BC was combined with different proportions of acrylic acid (AA) to fabricate hydrogels by exposure to accelerated electron-beam irradiation at different doses. Fourier transform infrared analysis revealed that the AA had been successfully grafted onto the cellulose fibers and allowed for prediction of the reaction mechanism in the synthesis of hydrogels. Thermal and morphological characterization indicated the formation of thermally stable hydrogels with pore size determined by AA content and irradiation dose. The results of swelling and in vitro drug-release studies revealed the hydrogels to be both thermo- and pH-responsive. Such thermo- and pH-responsiveness, in addition to their morphological characteristics, suggests that these BC/AA hydrogels are promising candidates as controlled drug-delivery systems.