Designing protein-polysaccharides based bioactive copolymeric network by supra-molecular interactions for sustained drug delivery

Keeping in view recent advancements in designing biomaterials from bioactive polysaccharides, the present work deals with the design of protein (gelatin)-polysaccharide (tragacanth gum) based bioactive copolymeric network by supramolecular interactions and covalent linkage for sustained drug delivery (DD) applications. The network copolymeric structure was characterized by field emission-scanning electron micrographs (FE-SEM), electron dispersion X-ray analysis (EDAX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). FESEM and XRD analyses revealed the heterogeneous morphology of copolymers with an amorphous nature. ¹³C NMR and FTIR spectra demonstrated the incorporation of poly(acrylamide) (AAm) into network structure by copolymerization reaction. Diffusion of anticancer drug 5-flurouracil (5-FU) occurred in a sustained manner with the Fickian mechanism and was best fitted in first order kinetic model. Polymer-blood interactions revealed the non-hemolytic character of hydrogels. An antioxidant assay evaluated their antioxidant property (26.61 ± 0.85 % of free radical scavenging). Copolymers exhibited mucoadhesiveness during polymer-mucous membrane interactions and required 113.33 ± 5.68 mN detachment forces. Furthermore, the combination of polysaccharide-gelatin has enhanced supramolecular interactions and improved physiological and biomedical properties of network hydrogels. Overall, these properties revealed the suitability of copolymeric hydrogels for drug delivery applications.