Designing protein-polysaccharides based bioactive copolymeric network by supra-molecular interactions for sustained drug delivery

Abstract

Keeping in view recent advancements in designing biomaterials from bioactive polysaccharides, the present work deals with the design of protein (gelatin)-polysaccharide (tragacanth gum) based bioactive copolymeric network by supramolecular interactions and covalent linkage for sustained drug delivery (DD) applications. The network copolymeric structure was characterized by field emission-scanning electron micrographs (FE-SEM), electron dispersion X-ray analysis (EDAX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). FESEM and XRD analyses revealed the heterogeneous morphology of copolymers with an amorphous nature. 13C NMR and FTIR spectra demonstrated the incorporation of poly(acrylamide) (AAm) into network structure by copolymerization reaction. Diffusion of anticancer drug 5-flurouracil (5-FU) occurred in a sustained manner with the Fickian mechanism and was best fitted in first order kinetic model. Polymer-blood interactions revealed the non-hemolytic character of hydrogels. An antioxidant assay evaluated their antioxidant property (26.61 ± 0.85 % of free radical scavenging). Copolymers exhibited mucoadhesiveness during polymer-mucous membrane interactions and required 113.33 ± 5.68 mN detachment forces. Furthermore, the combination of polysaccharide-gelatin has enhanced supramolecular interactions and improved physiological and biomedical properties of network hydrogels. Overall, these properties revealed the suitability of copolymeric hydrogels for drug delivery applications.