Abstract
The potential use of carboxymethyl sago pulp (CMSP) extracted from sago waste for producing hydrogel nanofibers was investigated as a methylene blue drug carrier. Sago pulp was chemically modified via carboxymethylation reaction to form carboxymethyl sago pulp (CMSP) and subsequently used to produce nanofibers using the electrospinning method with the addition of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). The CMSP nanofibers were further treated with citric acid to form cross-linked hydrogel. Studies on the percentage of swelling following the variation of citric acid concentrations and curing temperature showed that 89.20 ± 0.42% of methylene blue (MB) was loaded onto CMSP hydrogel nanofibers with the percentage of swelling 4366 ± 975%. Meanwhile, methylene blue controlled release studies revealed that the diffusion of methylene blue was influenced by the pH of buffer solution with 19.44% of MB released at pH 7.34 within 48 h indicating the potential of CMSP hydrogel nanofibers to be used as a drug carrier for MB.
Highlights
Sago palm (Metroxylon sago) is largely grown in tropical lowland forest and swamp areas
This study suggests that the controlled released of methylene blue (MB) from hydrogels is associated with the presence of cross-linkages between the nanofibers polymers, restricting the diffusion rate of MB into the surrounding medium
This study has investigated the modification of cellulose obtained from sago waste in forming hydrogel nanofibers as a potential drug carrier in wound treatments
Summary
Sago palm (Metroxylon sago) is largely grown in tropical lowland forest and swamp areas. The ionic groups within the hydrogel structure respond towards external changes such as pH, ionic strength and temperature which influence the uptake and release of fluid [9] It has been extensively studied as an excellent material for biomedical applications due to its softness, super-absorbency, biodegradability, biocompatibility, hydrophilicity and similarity with extracellular matrix (ECM) [10]. Electrospinning is a highly versatile method for producing nanofibers using natural or synthetic polymers, which can be used in drug and therapeutic agent deliveries, wound dressings and in the tissue engineering field [11,22,23]. The production of CMSP hydrogel nanofibers from sago waste was investigated for controlled drug release applications. MB is commonly used as preliminary test for hydrogel-controlled release and adsorption studies [29,30,31]
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