Development of Polymer Membrane using Chitosan/ Hydroxyethyl Cellulose for Controlled Release of Bioactive Agent

Abstract

The present work describes the fabrication of a polymer membrane using chitosan and hydroxyethyl cellulose by the solvent casting evaporation method. The membranes were loaded with curcumin which is taken as a model bioactive agent for controlled drug delivery applications. The developed membranes were characterized by different techniques such as FTIR, DSC, TGA, XRD and SEM. Curcumin-loaded membranes were tested in in vitro drug release studies in a phosphate buffer solution of pH 7.4 at 37 oC to see how quickly they swelled. The drug-encapsulated membranes have a high release rate of roughly 90% for up to 16 hours. The developed membranes follow a non-Fickian diffusion mechanism with values of ‘n’ ranging from 0.506 to 0.624. The results suggest that our developed membranes warrant further development for drug delivery applications.