Search

In this study, salt leaching (SL) technique was used to prepare a chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol (CS/PVA) polymeric composite in order to load metformin nanoparticles (METNPs). Sodium chloride was added to the CS/PVA (0.5:0.1) composite to create a porous hydrogel using the SL technique. METNPs were then prepared by water/oil (w/o) method and loaded into the hydrogel structure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis confirmed that >80 % of the METNPs were in the range of 10 nm. As a result, encapsulation increased due to the increase in surface-to-volume ratio. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results confirmed that creating porosity in the polymer composition by the SL method led to increased CS/PVA polymer chain mobility. The drug encapsulation increased due to more porosity, and the release in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) was according to the controlled diffusion kinetics. Furthermore, the drug release from CS/PVA composite was anomalous carrier type that could be attributed to the addition of salt. However, due to the increase the amount of PVA and the creation of a monotonous composite structure, encapsulation of drug decreased, which is in accordance with the polymer relaxation mechanism., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest This manuscript is authored by Kasra Yari, Gelareh Gharati, and Iman Akbari, who declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Sodium alginate (SA) is a natural biopolymer that is used as biodegradable and non-toxic material in medical and pharmaceutical fields. Although crosslinked SA with calcium ions in the presence of monovalent salts are unstable. The aim of this work is to employe plant mucilage in combination of SA beads to improve the properties of SA beads. SA beads containing metformin drug (MET) were modified using basil seed mucilage (BSM) to achieve controlled release was investigated. The presence of BSM in the SA structure results in more stability, less swelling, and consequently lower release. The effect of pH 1.2 and pH 7.4 on its release and swelling of the beads was studied, and the results showed that the lowest swelling and release was from the acidic environment. Sodium Tripolyphosphate (TPP) as a cross-linker in the bead structure caused a lower release and swelling. The chemical structure of beads was confirmed by FTIR, SEM indicated the porous structure of SA bead and continuous structure of SA/BSM bead and DSC indicated that the presence of BSM in the bead structure decreased the chain motility. Also, cytotoxicity of BSM was investigated by MTT method, and the mucilage toxicity was not confirmed until 3 ml., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)