Fabrication of pectin-based stimuli responsive hydrogel for the controlled release of ceftriaxone

For effective treatment of various diseases, pharmaceutical world require smart drug delivery systems in order to improve bioavailability, bio-degradability, site specific delivery and controlled release of drug. For this purpose, stimuli-responsive hydrogel comprised of polysaccharides chitosan and pectin, synthetic polymer polyvinylalcohol (PVA) and environment friendly coupling agent 3-aminopropyl (diethoxy)methylsilane (3-APDEMS) was fabricated. These polymers were blended and crosslinked with varying amount of crosslinker via solution casting technique. FTIR characterization elucidated the presence of chitosan, pectin and PVA functional groups as well as newly developed chemical and physical bondings. TGA showed increase in thermal stability with increase in the concentration of crosslinker. Swelling analysis depicted the successful crosslinking of polymeric chains as the swelling decreased with increase in crosslinker concentration. The change in swelling of hydrogels with change in pH of buffer media indicated the pH-dependent response of prepared stimuli responsive hydrogel. Hydrophilicity (72°) and porosity (79%) of prepared hydrogels were investigated. Furthermore, in vitro biodegradation, antibacterial and cytotoxicity analyses were also performed. The accumulative drug release was conducted in phosphate buffer saline solution and found that more than 90% of ceftriaxone was released in 180 min in controlled way that makes them ideal candidate for drug delivery and controlled release application.