Development and evaluation of chitosan-g-poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide) hydrogel composite containing gabapentin for in vitro controlled release

Abstract

In this study, a biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogel nanocomposite was synthesized through copolymerization of acrylic acid and acrylamide monomers onto chitosan in the presence of methylene bisacrylamide as a crosslinking agent and ammonium persulfate as a thermal initiator. The hydrogel was fully characterized by FTIR, SEM, DSC, and TGA techniques. The drug delivery and controlled release of gabapentin (GAB) at different pH, temperature, and time intervals were studied using the synthesized hydrogel nanocomposite. Based on the results, the maximum encapsulation and the drug loading efficiency of hydrogel composite was 64% and 71%, respectively, in which the drug was released in a sustained-release manner from the hydrogel. The release study of dual temperature and pH-responsive hydrogel composite indicated that 90% of total GAB was released from the hydrogel within the first two hours. The drug release was governed by the Higuchi kinetics model with R2= 0.9939 and followed the Fickian diffusion mechanism. The cytotoxicity of the blank hydrogel composite was evaluated on the NIH/3T3 cell line. The findings revealed that hydrogel did not affect the cells’ survival. The unique biocompatibility and thermosensitive properties of the present chitosan-based hydrogel could be a reason to use it as a promising drug carrier for the controlled and sustained release of GAB.