Development of an efficient biocomposite hydrogel with enhanced mucoadhesive and antibacterial properties

Abstract

Noteworthy, mucoadhesion is considered an effective approach in drug delivery. Indeed, mucoadhesion donates various advantages including prolonged residence time, drug preservation, enhanced drug permeation, and developed drug accessibility. Herein, a novel gelatin based mucoadhesive hydrogel noted as gelatin/EudragitL100/Xanthan gum in combination with TiO2 and CuO metal oxides were fabricated with the aid of a facile preparation approach. In fact, the main goal of this research study is to utilize this formulation as a mucoadhesive hydrogel for the treatment of aphthous ulcers cases. To achieving and address the appropriate mucoadhesive formulation, the effect of plasticizers (PEG4000 and PG) and surfactant (SLS), kind of metal oxide and weight percent of biopolymer in formulation was studied in details. It is significant that a semi-solid formulation was obtained and examined in all experiments. Based on the results, the existence of xanthan gum, CuO and TiO2 in conjunction with Gelatin/EudragitL100 enhances the efficiency of the mucoadhesive hydrogel. It is significant that a semi-solid formulation was obtained and examined in all experiments. The as-prepared hydrogel (M7) was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The ex vivo mucoadhesive investigation displays that the designed hydrogel possesses a convenient adhesive and biodegradation feature. The gelatin/EudragitL100/Xanthan gum/TiO2/CuO hydrogel exposed biocompatibility > 70 % for MTT assay. The in vitro swelling ratio has diminished at basic pH, owing to the smaller pore sizes, which diminishes the water absorption. Antibacterial characteristics of hydrogel (Gelatin/EudragitL100/ Xanthan gum /TiO2/CuO) on various bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Lactobacillus plantarum and Streptococcus mutans was evaluated. The fungal surveyed species was Candida albicans ATCC 10231. The highest and lowest inhibitory effects were reported on Candida albicans and Lactobacillus plantarum, respectively. DPPH results illustrated that M7 has an appropriate radical scavenging property compared to that of reference models. All in all, the present research study addresses a significant perception regarding the utilization of mucoadhesive formulation for practical applications.