Mehdi-Sefiani Hanaa, Granados-Carrera Carmen Mª, Romero Alberto, Chicardi Ernesto, Domínguez-Robles Juan, Perez-Puyana Víctor Manuel
Department of Engineering and Materials Science and Transportation, University of Seville, 41012 Seville, Spain.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Seville, 41012 Seville, Spain.
Gels. 2024 Jun 26;10(7):419. doi: 10.3390/gels10070419.
Hydrogels are materials made of crosslinked 3D networks of hydrophilic polymer chains that can absorb and retain significant amounts of water due to their hydrophilic structure without being dissolved. In relation to alternative biomaterials, hydrogels offer increased biocompatibility and biodegradability, giving them distinct advantages. Thus, hydrogel platforms are considered to have the potential for the development of biomedical applications. In this study, the main objective was the development of hybrid hydrogels to act as a drug delivery platform. These hydrogels were made from chitosan (CH) and type A gelatin (G), two natural polymers that provide a supportive environment for cellular attachment, viability, and growth, thanks to their unique properties. Particularly, the use of gelatins for drug delivery systems provides biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity, which are excellent properties to be used in the human body. However, gelatins have some limitations, such as thermal instability and poor mechanical properties. In order to improve those properties, the aim of this work was the development and characterization of hybrid hydrogels with different ratios of CH-G (100-0, 75-25, 50-50, 25-75, 0-100). Hydrogels were characterized through multiple techniques, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, rheological and microstructural studies, among others. Moreover, a model hydrophilic drug molecule (tetracycline) was incorporated to evaluate the feasibility of this platform to sustain the release of hydrophilic drugs, by being tested in a solution of Phosphate Buffer Solution at a pH of 7.2 and at 37 °C. The results revealed that the synergy between chitosan and type A gelatin improved the mechanical properties as well as the thermal stability of it, revealing that the best ratios of the biopolymers are 50-50 CH-G and 75-25 CH-G. Thereby, these systems were evaluated in a controlled release of tetracycline, showing a controlled drug delivery of 6 h and highlighting their promising application as a platform for controlled drug release.
水凝胶是由亲水性聚合物链的交联三维网络构成的材料，因其亲水性结构能够吸收并保留大量水分而不被溶解。与其他生物材料相比，水凝胶具有更高的生物相容性和生物降解性，这使其具有明显优势。因此，水凝胶平台被认为具有开发生物医学应用的潜力。在本研究中，主要目标是开发用作药物递送平台的混合水凝胶。这些水凝胶由壳聚糖（CH）和A型明胶（G）制成，这两种天然聚合物由于其独特的性质，为细胞附着、活力和生长提供了支持性环境。特别地，将明胶用于药物递送系统具有生物降解性、生物相容性和无毒性，这些都是在人体中使用的优异特性。然而，明胶存在一些局限性，如热稳定性差和机械性能不佳。为了改善这些性能，本工作的目标是开发并表征具有不同CH - G比例（100 - 0、75 - 25、50 - 50、25 - 75、0 - 100）的混合水凝胶。通过多种技术对水凝胶进行表征，包括傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱、流变学和微观结构研究等。此外，加入一种亲水性药物模型分子（四环素），通过在pH为7.2、37℃的磷酸盐缓冲溶液中进行测试，来评估该平台维持亲水性药物释放的可行性。结果表明，壳聚糖和A型明胶之间的协同作用改善了其机械性能以及热稳定性，表明生物聚合物的最佳比例为50 - 50 CH - G和75 - 25 CH - G。因此，对这些体系进行了四环素控释评估，显示出6小时的药物控释效果，并突出了它们作为控释药物平台的应用前景。
