Sustained Release of Atorvastatin from Radiation-Synthesized Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels

Abstract

The present paper deals with the study of suitability of interpenetrating network hydrogels comprising N-isopropylacrylamide and k-carrageenan as matrix materials for the sustained release of Atorvastatin. The drug was incorporated in various gels by the active-loading technique and the in-vitro release kinetics was studied at pH 1.2 and 7.4. When the release data were analyzed as per the Korsmeyer and Peppas equation, the release exponent “n” was observed to be dependent on temperature and pH conditions, indicating the influence of release conditions on gel structure and in turn on the drug release mechanism.

Keywords:

• Diffusion controlled drug release
• electron beam irradiation
• stimuli responsive hydrogel

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support (Sanction No: 2004/34/28/BRNS) provided by the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India, for carrying out the present work.

Notes

*The values are an average of six trials.