Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide-g-Poly(N-Vinyl-2-Pyrrolidone): Microwave-Assisted Synthesis, Characterization, and Evaluation as Mucoadhesive Polymer

Abstract

Graft copolymer of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone and tamarind seed polysaccharide was prepared using microwave assisted graft copolymerization and evaluated for mucoadhesive applications. Graft copolymerization was optimized using response surface methodology employing microwave power and exposure time as the independent variables, and grafting efficiency as the response variable. The buccal patches of metronidazole formulated using the graft copolymer showed ex vivo bioadhesion time of 9.3 h with >80% of the drug getting released while the buccal patches formulated using tamarind seed polysaccharide showed ex vivo bioadhesion time of 5 h releasing only 50% of the drug.