Enhancement of mechanical properties of nanohydrogels based on natural gum with functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube: Study of swelling and drug release

Abstract

In this study, a series of nanohydrogels based on tragacanth gum (TG) were synthesized in the presence of different amounts of glycerol diglycidyl ether (GDE) and functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT). The gel content of prepared nanohydrogels (TG-GDE-CNT) showed dependence on the weight ratios of TG:GDE:CNT. The obtained nanohydrogels were characterized by using different techniques such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), tensile strength test, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The swelling behavior of prepared nanohydrogels showed significant dependence on the gel content, pH, and contact time. The hydrogels samples contained CNT showed superior mechanical and swelling properties than samples without CNT, (TG-GDE). The TG-GDE sample contained 0.4% w/w CNT showed an increase of 51% and 250% in tensile strength and tensile modulus, respectively, compared to sample without CNT. The loading and in-vitro release of Indomethacine (IND) as a model drug was investigated at pH 2, 7.4 and 9. The total loading and release showed dependence on the network structure of hydrogels and was in the range of 65–94% and 88–98%, respectively.