Hydrophobic Ethyl Cellulose Research Articles

Humidity-adjustable functional gelatin hydrogel/ethyl cellulose bilayer films for active food packaging application

A sustainable functional bilayer film composed of gelatin hydrogel/ethyl cellulose was fabricated using a simple LBL casting method. The outer layer was hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC), while the inner layer was hydrophilic gelatin (GEL) hydrogel. Tannic acid (TA) served as a green cross-linker for GEL hydrogel preparation and as a reductant for AgNPs synthesis in-situ within the hydrogel network. Physicochemical and functional properties of the bilayer films containing different TA content were studied. When 3 wt% TA was added, the AgNPs@GT-3/EC bilayer film exhibited superior UV-light barrier, possessed desirable humidity-adjustable capability and oxygen barrier due to denser hydrogel network structure, and effectively inactivated foodborne pathogens S. aureus and E. coli with bacteriostatic rates of 99 %. The application results indicated that this bilayer film effectively maintained the postharvest quality of white button mushrooms and prolonged their shelf-life to 7 days under ambient storage, demonstrating its promising potential for fresh food packaging.

Ethyl cellulose/gelatin-carboxymethyl chitosan bilayer films doped with Euryale ferox seed shell polyphenol for cooked meat preservation

This study evaluated the effects of an edible bilayer containing polyphenols from the Euryale ferox seed shell on ready-to-eat cooked beef products, including the physical, mechanical, antioxidant, and antibacterial capabilities. Here, the bilayer films were prepared by layer-by-layer solution pouring using hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC) as the outer layer, and hydrophilic gelatin/carboxymethyl chitosan (GC) as the inner layer. By adjusting the proportion of gelatin to carboxymethyl chitosan, the optical, mechanical, and barrier characteristics of bilayer films were markedly enhanced. Extracted polyphenol (EP) from shell of the Euryale ferox seed performed potent antibacterial property against Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes). The addition of EP to the inner layer of the optimized bilayer film further improved the mechanical and barrier properties of films, and as expected, the film exhibited antioxidant and antibacterial abilities. Additionally, cooked beef and cooked chicken preservation tests indicated that the active bilayer film showed good inhibition of L. monocytogenes and delayed lipid oxidation in ready-to-eat meat products, and significantly delayed the pH, moisture loss, color and texture changes. This study developed multifunctional bilayer active edible films, which has a great potential in the preservation ready-to-eat cooked meat products.

Fabrication of colon-targeted ethyl cellulose/gelatin hybrid nanofibers: Regulation of quercetin release and its anticancer activity

A colon-targeted delivery system that can efficiently deliver and release quercetin is essential to improve its bioavailability. We previously found that hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC) nanofibers could efficiently deliver quercetin to colon, but the release of quercetin was limited. To address this problem, hydrophilic gelatin (GN) was used as a regulator, and quercetin-loaded nanofibers with different mass ratios of EC to GN (3:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3) were fabricated by electrospinning. All nanofibers had a cylindrical morphology and high encapsulation efficiency (over 94 %), and there existed molecular interactions among quercetin, EC, and GN. The high GN content reduced the thermal stability of nanofibers but increased their surface wettability. Besides, these nanofibers had good stability in acidic and aqueous foods. Importantly, the release of quercetin in the simulated gastrointestinal fluid was <3 %. The addition of GN was beneficial to the release of quercetin in colon, and nanofibers with EC to GN being 1:3 had a more preferable release performance. The anticancer activity of nanofibers against HCT-116 cells was proved by inhibiting cell viability through the induction of apoptosis. Therefore, these nanofibers are potential carriers for efficient colon-targeted delivery of bioactive compounds in the food industry.

Polymer Tablet Matrix Systems for the Controlled Release of Dry Betula pendula Leaf Extract.

The aim of the study was to develop polymer matrix tablets with modified release of dry Betula pendula leaf extract and to investigate basic parameters influencing the drug release pattern. To fully assess the statistical significance of the influence of the individual factors in the tablet formulation development as well as the combination of them, Tukey's tests and a complete 33 factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied. The following three factors were studied at three levels (low, medium and high): influence of the hydrophobic/hydrophilic polymer ratio Ethylcellulose (EC)/Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) (40/60, 25/75 and 10/90), influence of HPMC molecular weight (500 kDa, 750 kDa and 1150 kDa), and influence of the compression force applied (1 t, 1.5 t and 2 t). The effect of these varied parameters on the drug release parameter t80 was evaluated statistically. Twenty-seven tablet models were formulated, including all possible combinations of the variables. The obtained drug release profiles demonstrated that a 25/75 (EC/HPMC) ratio was the most suitable for prolonging the release process. Increasing the molecular weight of HMPC from 500 kDa to 750-1150 kDa and applying higher compression force significantly influenced the studied t80 values and caused sustained drug release (t80 up to 7.97 h). The combination of the hydrophilic HPMC polymer with the hydrophobic EC can result in the formation of a promising drug-carrying matrix, offering effective control of the drug release process.

Formation and characterization of konjac glucomannan/ethyl cellulose films by using ethanol and water as the solvents

Hydrophilic konjac glucomannan (KGM)/hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC) film was prepared in the ethanol/water environment. The film-forming solution and film properties were both characterized to analyze the molecular interaction changes. Although higher ethanol usage enhanced the stability of the film-forming solution, it did not benefit the film property improvement. The SEM images showed some fibrous structure on the air surface of the films, consistent with the XRD results. The changing trend of mechanical properties and the FTIR results suggested that both ethanol content and ethanol evaporation impacted the molecular interaction during the film formation. The surface hydrophobicity results indicated that the ethanol content could cause significant EC aggregation changes on the film surface only with high EC contents. The water vapor permeability results suggested that higher ethanol usage decreased the compactness of the films. Considering all results, the 20 % ethanol content and the weight ratio of KGM: EC = 7:3 were suggested for the film preparation due to the superior properties in most properties. This study contributed to the understanding of polysaccharide interaction in the ethanol/water environment and offered an alternative biodegradable packaging film.

Effect of pH, Ionic Strength and Agitation Rate on Dissolution Behaviour of 3D-Printed Tablets, Tablets Prepared from Ground Hot-Melt Extruded Filaments and Physical Mixtures

With the current focus on 3D-printing technologies, it is essential to understand the processes involved in such printing methods and approaches to minimize the variability in dissolution behaviour to achieve better quality control outcomes. For this purpose, two formulations of theophylline tablets were prepared using hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and ethyl cellulose (EC). Among the two types of tablets, three different methods (physical mixture (PM), hot-melt extrusion (HME) and 3D-printing fused deposition modelling (FDM)) were applied and their dissolution behaviours were studied under various conditions using a biodissolution tester. This was carried out at pH values of 1.2, 2.2, 5.8, 6.8, 7.2 and 7.5, mimicking the medium in the gastrointestinal tract. Dissolution tests under two dipping rates (10 dpm and 20 dpm) and two ionic strengths (0.2 M and 0.4 M) were conducted to mimic fed and fasting conditions. The dissolution efficiency (DE%), release rate, similarity factor (f2) and difference factor (f1) were calculated. When comparing the DE%, the formulation containing EC showed less sensitivity to changes in the dipping rate and ionic strength compared to the HPC formulation. As for the manufacturing method, 3D-printing FDM could improve the robustness of the dissolution behaviour of both formulations to dipping rate changes. However, for ionic strength changes, the effect of the manufacturing method was dependent on the formulation composition. For example, the 3D-printed tablets of the HPC formulation were more sensitive to changes in ionic strength compared to the EC-containing formulation. The release mechanism also changed after the thermal process, where n values in the Korsmeyer-Peppas model were much higher in the printing and HME methods compared to the PM. Based on the formulation composition, the 3D-printing method could be a good candidate method for tablets with a robust dissolution behaviour in the GI tract. Compared to HPC polymers, using hydrophobic EC polymers in printable formulations can result in a more robust dissolution behaviour in fed and fasting states.

Physicomechanical properties and in vitro release behaviors of electrospun ibuprofen-loaded blend PEO/EC fibers

Electrospinning is a fiber manufacturing technique with the possibility of encapsulating high levels of small molecule drugs while providing controlled release rates. In this study, electrospun blend fibers were produced from polyethylene oxide (PEO) and ethyl cellulose (EC) at various compositions to encapsulate a poorly water-soluble drug of ibuprofen (IBP) at 30% loading. Microscopic evaluation showed smooth and defect-free fiber morphologies for blank and IBP-loaded PEO/EC fibers. The average fiber diameters and fiber yields suggested a potential optimization on the blend fiber composition for the electrospun drug-eluting PEO/EC fibers, where the highest average fiber diameter and fiber yield occurred at 50PEO/50EC fiber composition. Surface wettability studies demonstrated the effects on surface hydrophobicity from blend fibers of water-soluble PEO and hydrophobic EC as well as the incorporation of IBP. In addition, blend fibers containing more PEO promoted the water absorption rates through dissolution of the polymer matrix. Furthermore, results from mechanical testing of the blend fibers showed the highest fiber elastic modulus and tensile strength at fiber compositions in between 75PEO/25EC and 50PEO/50EC, corresponding to the average fiber diameter measurements. The in vitro IBP release rates demonstrated a dependence on the EC compositions supported by the surface wettability and water absorption rate studies. In general, our work demonstrated the ability to electrospin blank and IBP-loaded PEO/EC fibers with the scientific understandings of EC compositions on modulations of fiber physicomechanical properties and in vitro drug release rates. The findings from the work indicated the potential engineering and pharmaceutical applications of electrospun drug-eluting fibers for topical drug delivery.

Preparation and performance of green targeted microcapsules encapsulating surfactants

As a kind of typical functional substance, the wide application of surfactants causes growing concern about potential environmental safety hazard while benefiting mankind a lot, exploring approaches to achieve low cost, low risk and high performance is of great significance. In this paper, microcapsules encapsulating surfactant were prepared through solvent evaporation method, using hydrophobic ethyl cellulose as the shell material, which endowed the microcapsules environmental-friendliness and oil-phase targeting effect. Nonionic surfactant Span 20 was used as core material as an example. The mechanisms for the generation of the microcapsules and the effects of several factors, such as the stirring speed, core/shell weight ratio and molecular weight of ethyl cellulose, on the properties of the microcapsules were investigated, by which how to adjust the size and the mechanical properties of the microcapsules were determined. The oil-phase targeting performance of the microcapsules was verified, it was confirmed that the microcapsules could break rapidly when they encounter with oil phase interface, releasing surfactant to reduce the oil-water interfacial tension, while the microcapsules keep stable in water medium. Thereby in the practical applications of surfactants, the temperature resistance and salt resistance performance could be enhanced, and the interfacial efficiency could be achieved at low surfactant dosage. This work reveals a newly approach to employ surfactants smartly and more efficiently, and might have great potential in many fields.

Novel packaging film for humidity-controlled manipulating of ethylene for shelf-life extension of Agaricus bisporus

A new polysaccharide multilayer biodegradable film was developed and tested, which can scavenge ethylene and inhibit ethylene action by releasing 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP). The film was fabricated with the stacking order of hydrophobic ethyl cellulose outer layer, a mixture of 1-methylcyclopropene and palladium on carbon (1-MCP-Pd/C) middle layer and hydrophilic hydrogel inner layer. The excess water produced by fruits and vegetables was absorbed by inner layer, avoiding the accumulation of condensed water. Meanwhile, the increase of the permeability of the inner hydrogel layer caused by moisture absorption facilitated manipulation of antistaling agent. SEM, TG and DSC proved that the functional components were successfully loaded on the film. Gas chromatography analysis results demonstrated that the 1-MCP release rate and ethylene removal rate could be controlled by adjusting the humidity (50% RH to 100% RH). The effects of the film on the main quality attributes of Agaricus bisporus were evaluated at 20 °C. This prepared functional film could delay the softening, browning and weight loss of mushrooms, maintain the integrity of mushroom cell membrane, maintain ascorbic acid content and soluble solid content, and inhibit the activity of ethylene synthesis-related enzymes.

Lipase-Immobilized Cellulosic Capsules with Water Absorbency for Enhanced Pickering Interfacial Biocatalysis.

Lipase-immobilized cellulosic capsules consisting of hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC) and hydrophilic carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were developed with a promising interfacial activity and water absorbency for the enhanced Pickering interfacial biocatalysis. Lipase was physically immobilized with water-absorbent materials (CMC) via hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions and acted as the interior catalytic core of the capsule. The interfacially active EC worked as the exterior shell, enabling capsules to stabilize the oil-in-water Pickering emulsion for the subsequent Pickering interfacial catalysis. The capsules with CMC created interior water-rich conditions to improve the conformational and enzymatic activity of the immobilized lipase. Compared with capsules without water-absorbent materials, the capsules with CMC enhanced the efficiency of the Pickering interfacial catalysis for the esterification of oleic acid and 1-octanol by 12%. Immobilized with a small amount of lipase (0.0625 g/g), the cellulosic capsules with water absorbency could convert 50.8% of the reactants after 10 h under room temperature, significantly higher than that by the same amount of free lipase in the biphasic system (15%) and a Pickering emulsion (24.1%) stabilized by empty capsules (without lipase). Moreover, the cellulosic capsules could be recycled by simple centrifugation while retaining their high relative catalytic activity for at least eight cycles, demonstrating their sustainable catalytic performance.

Bilayer edible films with tunable humidity regulating property for inhibiting browning of Agaricus bisporus

Bilayer edible films were fabricated with the stacking double layers, in which the outer and inner layer was consisted of hydrophobic ethyl cellulose and hydrophilic carboxymethyl chitosan hydrogel, respectively. Humidity regulating performance of the films varied with the change of substitution degree of carboxymethyl chitosan. The mechanical properties, water insolubility, water vapor permeability, water contact angle, moisture absorption/desorption characteristics and micro morphology of the film were characterized, which showed that the film can adjust the relative humidity and block the external moisture. The film prepared by carboxymethyl chitosan with the substitution degree of 120% was then selected for the packaging of fresh mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). The browning of the mushrooms during storage was delayed, as well as the qualities were maintained well, Additionally, the activities and corresponding gene expression of PPO enzyme were inhibited, however for PAL enzyme, an increase was observed.

Ultramild One-Step Encapsulating Method as a Modular Strategy for Protecting Humidity-Susceptible Metal-Organic Frameworks Achieving Tunable Drug Release Profiles.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), composed of metal ions or clusters and organic ligands, have emerged as a new class of porous materials. However, water instability of many MOFs has impeded their further applications. Herein, an ultramild one-step encapsulating method has been developed by incorporating γ-cyclodextrin-based MOFs (CD-MOFs) into hydrophobic ethylcellulose to fabricate composite microparticles for ideal hydrolytic stability. The whole process can be completed at ambient temperature by the novel ultrafine particle processing system in several minutes without any purification or drying steps. The composite microparticles well retained their morphology and crystal structure of CD-MOFs even after being exposed to extreme humid environment for 30 d. The composite microparticles were further exploited for drug delivery. The composite microparticles not only exhibited sustained and tunable pH-dependent drug release profiles in simulated physiological conditions but also reduced cell toxicity compared with drug-loaded CD-MOFs, which demonstrated that the composite microparticles were promising as drug carriers. In summary, this study developed a modular strategy for protecting humidity-susceptible MOFs with controlled release profiles, which is expected to open up a new avenue to expand their applications in the biomedical field.

Synthesis of ethyl cellulose/aluminosilicate zeolite nanofibrous membranes for oil–water separation and oil absorption

ZSM-5 (Seolite Sconoy Mobil) aluminosilicate zeolites synthesized by the hydrothermal method were incorporated into the hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC) nanofibrous membrane. The performance of synthesized nanofibers was investigated for a gravity driven oil–water separation. The synthesized ZSM-5 nanozeolites and EC/ZSM-5 composite nanofibers were characterized using XRD, FESEM, XPS, FTIR and AFM analysis. The permeability of EC/ZSM-5 5 wt% for oil in water mixture was in order of n-hexane (5170 ± 60 L/m2 h) > n-heptane (4600 ± 50 L/m2 h) > cyclohexane (4350 ± 35 L/m2 h) > pump oil (3780 ± 28 L/m2 h) > lubricating oil (3200 ± 25 L/m2 h) > motor oil (2980 ± 20 L/m2 h) with a separation efficiency higher than 99.90% for the studied oil/water mixtures separation. The potential of nanofibers toward oil absorption from oil/water mixtures was also investigated for 7 cycles of absorption process. The absorption capacity was found to be 525.6, 423.4 and 198.3 g/g for motor oil, cyclohexane and n-heptane using EC/ZSM-5 nanofibers. The obtained results revealed that ZSM-5 loaded-EC nanofibrous membranes can be used as efficient membranes for oil/water separation.

The effect of collection substrate on electrospun ciprofloxacin-loaded poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and ethyl cellulose nanofibers as potential wound dressing materials.

In this work, nanofibers based on hydrophilic poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC) were generated via electrospinning. A model antibiotic, ciprofloxacin (CIF), was also incorporated into the fibers. Fibers were collected on both a foil substrate and a commercial gauze, the latter in the interests of developing a smart fabric. Electron microscopy images revealed that the fibers collected on both foil and fabric were homogeneous and cylindrical. Infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry demonstrated that CIF was successfully loaded into the fibers and present in the amorphous physical form. In vitro drug release tests were conducted to simulate drug release from the formulations into a wound site, and as expected the hydrophilic fibers showed much faster release than their hydrophobic analogues. CIF was released through a combined mechanism of polymer erosion and drug diffusion, and the EC nanofibers displayed close to zero-order release over three days. Fibroblast cells are able to grow and proliferate on the fibers. Finally, inhibition zone assays revealed that the growth of both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria could be effectively inhibited as a result of the presence of CIF in the fibers. There were no marked differences between the fibers collected on foil and on gauze, and electrospinning can be performed directly onto a gauze substrate to prepare a smart fabric.

Magnetically responsive Janus nanoparticles synthesized using cellulosic materials for enhanced phase separation in oily wastewaters and water-in-crude oil emulsions

A new class of magnetically responsive and interfacially active Janus (M−Janus) nanoparticles was designed and synthesized by sequential adsorption of cellulosic materials: hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC) and hydrophilic carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on the opposite sides of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. The adsorption study using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) proved the concept of proposed synthesis of M−Janus nanoparticles. The adsorption of EC and CMC on magnetite nanoparticles was confirmed by zeta-potential measurements, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and TEM. The surface wettabilities of the opposite sides on the M−Janus nanoparticles were investigated by measuring contact angles of nanoparticle surfaces deposited from the oil-water interfaces using the Langmuir-Blodgett method. SEM images revealed an excellent dispersion of M−Janus nanoparticles in both aqueous and organic phases. The results from the coalescence time and crumpling ratio measurement of particles-stabilized oil droplets along with the interfacial pressure-area isotherms demonstrated stronger interfacial activities of M−Janus nanoparticles and a stiffer interface with adsorbed M−Janus nanoparticles as compared with the interfaces stabilized by conventional interfacially-active nanoparticles. The microscopy images confirmed the deposition of M−Janus nanoparticles at the emulsion droplet surface during the phase separation process. The M−Janus nanoparticles not only exhibited excellent capability and high efficiency in separating emulsified water from water-in-crude oil emulsions and the oil from oily wastewaters under an external magnetic field, but also retained high interfacial activity and hence desirable separation efficiency after five-cycle applications. Because of the environmentally friendly and biodegradable cellulosic materials used in the synthesis, the M−Janus nanoparticle can achieve effective oil/water phase separation without causing further pollution to the continuous phase.

Ethyl Cellulose Nanoparticles at the Alkane-Water Interface and the Making of Pickering Emulsions.

Pickering emulsions stabilized by nanoparticles have recently received great attention for their remarkable stability, in part a consequence of irreversible adsorption. In this study, we generate Pickering oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by ethyl cellulose (EC) nanoparticles without the addition of surfactants. Over a range of ionic strength and EC nanoparticle concentrations, a series of dynamic interfacial tension (IFT) measurements complemented by extended DLVO theoretical computations are conducted to quantitatively describe the behavior of EC nanoparticles at the interface of water with different alkanes. Regardless of ionic strength, there is no barrier against the adsorption of EC nanoparticles at the alkane-water interfaces studied and the particles tightly cover these interfaces with near maximal coverage (i.e., 91%). Remarkably, the rate of approach to maximum coverage of the alkane-water interface by EC nanoparticles during the later stages of adsorption is accelerated in the presence of salt at concentrations below the critical coagulation concentration (CCC), unlike the air-water interface. Above the CCC, alkane-water interfaces behave similar to air-water interfaces, showing decay in the adsorption flux which is attributed to an increase in surface blocking originating from the attachment of nanoparticles to nanoparticles already adsorbed at the interface. These findings shed light on particle-particle and particle-interface colloidal interactions at and near fluid-fluid interfaces, thereby improving our ability to use hydrophobic EC nanoparticles as emulsion stabilizers.

Development and characterization of ricinoleic acid-based sulfhydryl thiol and ethyl cellulose blended membranes

Ethyl cellulose (EC) membranes can be combined with efficient plasticizers derived from renewable resources to form supramolecular systems. In this paper, a novel ricinoleic acid-based sulfhydryl triol (STRA) was first synthesized and used as a plasticizer for EC membranes. A supramolecular membrane of EC and STRA using van der Waals forces was designed. The morphology, hydrophilic performance, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. While pure EC is brittle, its membrane ductility and hydrophilic performance can be improved by integration with STRA. The highest tensile strength was found in EC/STRA (90/10) (8.37MPa). Impressively, the EC/STRA(60/40) and EC/STRA(50/50) elongation at break values were 17.4 and 20.2 times higher, respectively, than that of pure EC. This novel ricinoleic acid-based sulfhydryl triol can be used as a feedstock for hydrophobic EC membranes.

Electrospun water-stable zein/ethyl cellulose composite nanofiber and its drug release properties

A simple and cost-effective way to prepare water-stable zein-based nanofibers for potential drug delivery was presented in this article. Corn protein zein was co-electrospun with hydrophobic ethyl cellulose. Indomethacin, as a model drug, was incorporated in situ into the composite nanofibers. Scanning electron microscopy and element mapping revealed the morphologies of drug-loaded nanofibers and drug distribution, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectra confirmed the physical blending among the components. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction demonstrated the physical state of drug and polymers in the nanofiber matrix. The composite nanofibers showed a sustained diffusion-controlled release according to the results of in vitro dissolution tests.

Core-Sheath Nanofibers as Drug Delivery System for Thermoresponsive Controlled Release

In this work, a smart drug delivery system of core-sheath nanofiber is reported. The core-sheath nanofibers were prepared with thermoresponsive poly-(N-isopropylacrylamide) (as core) and hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (as sheath) by coaxial electrospinning. Analogous medicated fibers were prepared by loading with a model drug ketoprofen (KET). The fibers were cylindrical without phase separation and have visible core-sheath structure as shown by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction patterns demonstrated the drug with the amorphous physical form was present in the fiber matrix. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis was conducted, finding that there were significant intermolecular interactions between KET and the polymers. Water contact angle measurements proved that the core-sheath fibers from hydrophilic transformed into hydrophobic when the temperature reached the lower critical solution temperature. In vitro drug-release study of nanofibers with KET displayed that the coaxial nanofibers were able to synergistically combine the characteristics of the 2 polymers producing a temperature-sensitive drug delivery system with sustained-release properties. In addition, they were established to be nontoxic and suitable for cell growth. These findings show that the core-sheath nanofiber is a potential candidate for controlling drug delivery system.

Coatless alginate pellets as sustained-release drug carrier for inflammatory bowel disease treatment

Conventional alginate pellets underwent rapid drug dissolution and failed to exert colon targeting unless subjected to complex coating. This study designed coatless delayed-release oral colon-specific alginate pellets for ulcerative colitis treatment. Alginate pellets, formulated with water-insoluble ethylcellulose and various calcium salts, were prepared using solvent-free melt pelletization technique which prevented reaction between processing materials during agglomeration and allowed reaction to initiate only in dissolution. Combination of acid-soluble calcium carbonate and highly water-soluble calcium acetate did not impart colon-specific characteristics to pellets due to pore formation in fragmented matrices. Combination of moderately water-soluble calcium phosphate and calcium acetate delayed drug release due to rapid alginate crosslinking by soluble calcium from acetate salt followed by sustaining alginate crosslinking by calcium phosphate. The use of 1:3 ethylcellulose-to-alginate enhanced the sustained drug release attribute. The ethylcellulose was able to maintain the pellet integrity without calcium acetate. Using hydrophobic prednisolone as therapeutic, hydrophilic alginate pellets formulated with hydrophobic ethylcellulose and moderately polar calcium phosphate exhibited colon-specific in vitro drug release and in vivo anti-inflammatory action. Coatless oral colon-specific alginate pellets can be designed through optimal formulation with melt pelletization as the processing technology.