Development of a gelatin‐g‐poly(acrylic acid‐co‐acrylamide)–montmorillonite superabsorbent hydrogels forin vitrocontrolled release of vitamin B12

Abstract

ABSTRACTGelatin (Ge)‐g‐poly(acrylic acid‐co‐acrylamide) and montmorillonite (MMT)‐clay‐based nanocomposite hydrogels were fabricated to study the controlled release of vitamin B12. Polymeric hydrogels were characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the grafting of partially neutralized acrylic acid on a Ge backbone. The incorporation of MMT fillers inside the nanocomposite hydrogels and their increased crystallinity were established by XRD analysis. The rough surface morphologies of the composite hydrogels shown by SEM resulted from the assimilation of MMT inside the same. TEM confirmed the formation of nanosized composites. The average length and width of the MMT platelets were found to be 184.37 and 20.48 nm, respectively. The maximum swelling of the hydrogel was 375 g/g, and the results were established with Design‐Expert software. The biodegradability of the nanocomposite increased in comparison to that of the copolymer hydrogel. Biocompatibility and cytotoxicity studies were also performed. During different time intervals, the controlled release of vitamin B12in artificial gastric fluid (AGF) and artificial intestinal fluid (AIF) was evaluated with a UV–visible spectrophotometer; this resulted in different controlled release curves. The release in AGF was 42%, and in AIF, the cumulative release was 80% over 6 h. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci.2019,136, 47596.