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Increased Stability of Polysaccharide/Silica Hybrid Sub‐Millicarriers for Retarded Release of Hydrophilic Substances
Author(s) -
Elzayat Asmaa,
Tolba Emad,
PérezPla Francisco F.,
Oraby Ahmed,
MuñozEspí Rafael
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.202100027
Subject(s) - ionotropic effect , polymer , chemical engineering , chemistry , controlled release , salt (chemistry) , nanoparticle , chitosan , polymer chemistry , molecule , hybrid material , organic chemistry , materials science , biochemistry , nmda receptor , receptor , engineering
This work reports an in situ strategy for the synthesis of hybrid sub‐millispheres as carriers for encapsulating and controlling the release of hydrophilic pharmaceutical compounds in both neutral and acidic media. An organic–inorganic hydrogel is prepared by ionotropic gelation, and its efficiency for entrapping hydrophilic molecules is investigated. Two biopolymers, namely chitosan or alginate, are used to generate a scaffold network, in which the formation of silica nanoparticles takes place in situ by a sol–gel process. Model hydrophilic molecules (erioglaucine disodium salt and ephedrine hydrochloride) are encapsulated within polymer matrix, and the subsequent release is controlled by tailoring the hybrid network structure. Kinetic studies demonstrate that the release of the active substance is slower in the presence of silica, which increases as well the structural stability of the carrier in both neutral and acidic media. As a result, by incorporating nanostructured silica into the polymer matrix, the presented system overcomes the limitations of the ionotropic method for entrapping hydrophilic substances.