Probing the Impact of Porosity on Swelling Kinetics of Hydrophilic Matrices

The aim of the present investigation was to understand the swelling behaviour of HPMC and PEO-based matrices and to evaluate the impact of porosity on the swelling kinetics. It was noticed that the HPMC has higher swelling rates but both undergo diffusion oriented swelling mechanism. It could also the concluded that the porosity has a marked influence in the development of gel layer on the surface of these matrices

Impact of purification on physicochemical, surface and functional properties of okra biopolymer

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd The functionality of plant-resourced biopolymers depends on their physicochemical properties. In addition, the extraction protocol and further processing conditions can significantly affect the effectiveness of biopolymer in diverse industrial applications. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the impact of purification on chemical composition, molecular arrangement, solubility, swelling, erosion, wettability, quantitative wetting kinetics, surface energy and three-dimensional (3D) surface texture properties of okra biopolymer and its compacted form. FTIR and XRD results confirmed that the purification process had no effect on the molecular structural arrangement. The highest purity grade (bi-purified okra biopolymer) had the highest sugar content, solubility, matrix tablet swelling, wettability and surface energy, although the surface porosity and roughness of matrix tablet were low. Okra biopolymer showed pH-dependent solubility and the maximum solubility was achieved at pH 7.4. The mechanism of swelling of less-purified matrices was anomalous, where the rate of water diffusion and polymer relaxation was of the same magnitude, whereas bi-purified matrices showed diffusion-controlled swelling. Wetting was absorption-controlled and the bi-purified biopolymer had a high degree of wetting and surface energy. The extraction method, therefore, has a major influence on the properties and the subsequent drug delivery, biotechnology and food science applications for the biopolymer

An Overview of Chitosan Nanofibers and their Applications in the Drug Delivery Process

Chitosan is a polycationic natural polymer which is abundant in nature. Chitosan has gained much attention as natural polymer in the biomedical field. The up to date drug delivery as well as the nanotechnology in controlled release of drugs from chitosan nanofibers are focused in this review. Electrospinning is one of the most established and widely used techniques for preparing nanofibers. This method is versatile and efficient for the production of continuous nanofibers. The chitosan-based nanofibers are emerging materials in the arena of biomaterials. Recent studies revealed that various drugs such as antibiotics, chemotherapeutic agents, proteins and anti-inflammatory analgesic drugs were successfully loaded onto electrospun nanofibers. Chitosan nanofibers have several outstanding properties for different significant pharmaceutical applications such as wound dressing, tissue engineering, enzyme immobilization, and drug delivery systems. This review highlights different issues of chitosan nanofibers in drug delivery applications, starting from the preparation of chitosan nanofibers, followed by giving an idea about the biocompatibility and degradation of chitosan nanofibers, then describing how to load the drug into the nanofibers. Finally, the major applications of chitosan nanofibers in drug delivery systems