Synthesis of a novel pH responsive phyllosilicate loaded polymeric hydrogel based on poly(acrylic acid-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone) and polyethylene glycol for drug delivery: Modelling and kinetics study for the sustained release of an antibiotic drug

In this study, we developed a novel pH-sensitive composite interpenetrating polymeric network (IPN) hydrogel based on polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly(acrylic acid-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone) crosslinked with N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA). This composite was used for the controlled release (CR) of cefadroxil, an antibiotic drug. A systematic method via in situ polymerization in sodium aluminosilicate dispersion media was also performed to achieve a much higher degree of swelling behaviour followed by sufficient gel strength in the simulated pH atmosphere. The resulting hydrogel imprinted was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to confirm the copolymer formation and cross linking reaction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the surface morphology. Differential thermal analysis thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were also performed to investigate the deviations from crystallinity and swelling experiments. The in vitro release of the drug loaded hydrogel performed in the acidic and basic media affected the drug release characteristics. The release data was analysed using an empirical equation to understand the transport of a drug-containing solution through the polymeric matrices. The wt% of PEG, MBA, initiator, total monomer concentration, pH of the medium was found to strongly influence the drug release behaviour of the gels. The impression of drug loading on the encapsulation efficiency was also investigated. The release rate of the drug was much faster at pH 7.8 than at pH 1.7. The modelling and kinetics of sustained release of antibiotic is reported.