Evaluation of in-vitro drug release of polyvinylcyclohexane carbonate as a CO2-derived degradable polymer blended with PLA and PCL as drug carriers

Abstract

Drug delivery via polymers provides advantages such as controlled release over time and constant release rate. Polyvinylcyclohexane carbonate (PVCHC) is a new CO2-derived biodegradable polymer with potential biomedical applications. In this study, biodegradable polymers polycaprolactone (PCL), polylactic acid (PLA), and for the first time, PVCHC, as well as the mixed polymeric matrix of PCL-PVCHC and PLA-PVCHC, were tested as carriers for hydrophilic drugs acetaminophen and clindamycin. The polymeric carriers were prepared as matrix systems by dispersing the polymer powder in acetone solvent and finally by evaporating the matrix's solvent. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and FT-IR spectroscopy techniques were employed to characterize the properties of the polymeric drug-carrier matrices. In vitro drug release profiles of acetaminophen and clindamycin in saline phosphate buffer (PBS) and at a temperature of 37 °C were analyzed by UV–Vis spectroscopic technique. The release percentage was calculated at specific time intervals over 24 h. The highest release efficiency for PCL-acetaminophen, PCL-PVCHC-acetaminophen, PLA-acetaminophen, PCL-clindamycin, PLA-clindamycin, and PLA-PVCHC-clindamycin was calculated as 38%, 29%, 39%, 96%, 95%, and 40%, respectively. The kinetic behavior of the drug release was investigated by fitting the release data to the Zero-order model, First-order model, Higuchi model, and Korsmeyer-Peppas model, among which the Korsmeyer-Peppas model had the best agreement with the drug release results.