Development of a Novel Biodegradable Superporous Hydrogel for Gastroretentive Application

Abstract

The objective of the study was to design and evaluate a novel superporous hydrogels (SPHs) for application as gastroretentive dosage form of losartan potassium. The semi-interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) SPHs of polyvinyl pyrrolidone and chitosan was synthesized by crosslinking chitosan with glyoxal. SEM photographs show the presence of interconnected pores. The prepared SPHs were highly sensitive to pH of swelling media, and showed reversible swelling and deswelling behaviors maintaining their mechanical stability. Drug release fitted best to the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. The studies showed that semi-IPN SPHs could be used as a gastroretentive drug delivery system.

Keywords:

• Chitosan
• FT-IR
• pH sensitive
• SEM
• superporous hydrogels