Abstract:
This research studied on the releasing behavior of acetaminophen from alginate (A) and xanthan gum (X) films. The weight ratios of alginate to xanthan gum were varied at 95:5, 90:10 and 80:20. These films were ionically crosslinked with calcium ions and zinc ions. The A/X films were prepared using four different methods. Method I, the A/X films were soaked into 50 mL of 0.5 M CaCl2 for 30 min.
While method II, the film-forming solutions was mixed directly with 20 mL of CaCl₂ (0.02 M) and then followed by the same as method I. Method III, the crosslinked films from method I were immersed into zinc sulphate solution at different concentrations (0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 M). Similarly, the last method crosslinked films from method II were also immersed into zinc sulphate solution. The morphology of
hydrogel films was characterized by SEM/EDS elemental mapping that showed compatibility and well-dispersed of the calcium and zinc on films. The swelling behavior was evaluated in distilled water, simulated gastric fluid, SGF, (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffered saline, PBS, (pH 7.4) at 37 ºC. The A/X films showed that all films were stable in distilled water and SGF at over 24 hours. However, these films dissolved in PBS. Moreover, the A/X films had the maximum tensile strength and %elongation at break of 9.0 MPa and 51%, respectively. The contained A/X films evidenced antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. Cell viability of the film was also measured using MTT assay. It was found that the hydrogel films were not cytotoxic for Vero cells. The Acetaminophen was used for a model of drug release from hydrogel films. It was found that acetaminophen release profile of the A/X films showed relatively low (~10%) in SGF and essentially increase up to 100% in PBS. The comprehensive results suggest the film formula A95X5Ca2 and A95X5Ca2Zn2 can potentially be used in oral drug delivery application.