Composite Hydrogels of Bacterial Cellulose - carboxymethyl Cellulose for Drug Release

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a suitable material for biomedical applications due to its remarkable proprieties, such us: biodegradability, biocompatibility and ready availability. In this paper the swelling and drug release profiles from bacterial cellulose- carboxymethyl cellulose (BC-CMC) composite hydrogels were investigated, in the aim to use such systems in controlled drug delivery field. Ibuprofen sodium salt (IbuNa) was used as model drug. The obtained results revealed that the carboxymethyl cellulose content and epichlorohydrin concentration, used as crosslinker agent, influence both swelling and drug release properties. Also, the swelling mechanism was studied and found to be governed by pseudo-Fickian diffusion. These preliminary findings suggest that BC-CMC hydrogels could be exploited as components in controlled delivery systems.