Synthesis of novel superdisintegrants for pharmaceutical tableting based on functionalized nanocellulose hydrogels

Superdisintegrants have an important function in Fast dissolving tablets (FDT). It's believed that an increase in surface to the mass (size reduction) can enhance their performance. Due to the obligation of pharmaceutical excipients being in GRAS (generally recognized as safe) list, we've devoted our research to modify one of the routinely used and important natural polymer, cellulose, as superdisintegrant. Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was extracted from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) via the sulfuric acid hydrolysis process. NCC derivatives have been synthesized by Itaconic acid/Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (IA/HEMA) via maleic anhydride (MA) to acquire unique swellability properties in to achieve superabsorbent cellulose-based nano hydrogel with the cross-linking system. The disintegration performance of prepared tablets was compared with tablets composed of sodium starch glycolate (SSG) and MCC as positive and negative controls. The results show that the disintegration time of tablets formulated with synthesized modified NCC (m-NCC) decreased dramatically compared to other disintegrants. The dissolution analysis showed suitable condition for complete drug release in a shorter time. The in vitro cytotoxic experiments proved the biocompatibility of newly synthesized superdisintegrant. The dissolution Analysis findings suggest that our developed novel superdisintegrant paves the way for the formulation of fast dissolving tablets containing rapidly acting medicines such as zolpidem.

Investigation on Au-nano incorporated pH-sensitive (itaconic acid/acrylic acid/triethylene glycol) based polymeric biocompatible hydrogels

The pH-sensitive gold nano hydrogel based on itaconic acid, acrylic acid and triethylene glycol (GIAT) has been prepared by free radical polymerization viz. organic solventless approach with different monomer ratios. The nature of bonding and structural identification of GIAT hydrogels were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy. The surface morphology of gold gel was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to identify the size of gold nano particles. The in vitro biocompatibility of GIAT hydrogel has been evaluated in 3T3 fibroblast cell lines. The obtained results show that gold nano particle incorporated hydrogel possess ~99% of cell proliferation. Followed by, the impact of gold nano particles on swelling, surface morphology was studied. The consecutive preparation of hydrogel, effect of different pH conditions, and stoichiometry of monomeric units have also been discussed. The degree of swelling was measured in carbonate buffer solutions for 24h period with varying pH such as 1.2, 6.0, 7.4 and 10.0. The obtained results showed that the stoichiometry of itaconic acid and gold nano particles plays an essential role in modifying the nature of GIAT polymeric hydrogels. In conclusion, promising Au-nano incorporated pH-sensitive bio polymeric hydrogels were prepared and characterized. The unique properties of these Au-nano hydrogel make them attractive use in biomedical applications.

Photodegradable hydrogels for external manipulation of cellular microenvironments with real-time monitoring

A designed hydrogel whose stiffness could not only be controlled but also monitored in situ by fluorescence.