Preparation of hydrogel bead based on κ -carrageenan/layered double hydroxide and evaluation of its application in drug delivery

Novel intelligent drug delivery systems (DDS) have played an increasing role in the context of drug delivery for the last few years. Efficient and intelligent DDS determines the therapeutic effect of drugs, and solves the problems of low solubility, low bioavailability and toxicity of some drugs. Micro/nano drug delivery systems, as a novel intelligent, can protect the encapsulated sensitive molecules from being degraded in the physiological environments. And they are delivered to specific organs or tissues in a controlled manner to maintain drug concentrations within the therapeutic window or even to achieve “programmed” or, “on-demand” release of the drug. Integrating nanostructures with polymeric matrices can be employed as a desirable strategy in targeted drug delivery, as these composites can enhance drug loading capacity, aqueous solubility of hydrophobic drugs, and sustained release. In this study, a layered double hydroxide (LDH) was synthesized using Al(NO)۳.۹H۲O and Mg(NO)۳.۶H۲O salts using heterothermal method. Subsequently, K-CG/(Mg-Al) LDH granular hydrogel was synthesized using a physical crosslinker (KCl) and investigated for insulin loading and release in buffer solutions with pH values of ۱.۲, ۵.۴, and ۷.۴. The results showed a drug loading efficiency of ۹۹% in the hydrogel. Drug release studies in different buffer environments indicated that the release rate in acidic environments was higher than in neutral environments due to the sulfate groups present in the kappa-carrageenan structure and the instability of the layered double hydroxide in acidic conditions. Structural analysis was characterized using FT-IR. The obtained results demonstrated the successful synthesis of granular hydrogels, which can be utilized for the pH-dependent intelligent release of insulin.

کلیدواژه ها:

Insulin ، Drug delivery ، Layered double hydroxide