Integrated manufacturing of REciclable multi-material COmposites for the TRANSport sector
Alginate/chitosan hydrogels as perspective transport systems for cefotaxime
This work reports synthesis of pH?responsive alginate/chitosan hydrogel spheres with the average diameter of 2.0?±?0.05?mm, which contain cefotaxime that is an antibiotic of the cefalosporine group. The spheres provided the cefotaxime encapsulation efficiency of 95?±?1%. An in vitro release of cefotaxime from the spheres in the media that simulate human biological fluids in peroral delivery conditions was found to be a pH?dependent process. The analysis of cefotaxime release kinetics by the Korsmeyer–Peppas model revealed a non?Fickian mechanism of its diffusion, which may be related to intermolecular interactions occurring between the antibiotic and chitosan. Conductometry, UV spectroscopy, and IR spectroscopy were used to study complexation of chitosan with cefotaxime in aqueous media with varied pH, characterize the composition of the complexes, and calculate their stability constants. The composition of the cefotaxime–chitosan complexes was found to correspond to the 1.0:4.0 and 1.0:2.0 molar ratios of the components at pH?2.0 and 5.6, respectively. Quantum chemical modeling was used to evaluate energy characteristics of chitosan–cefotaxime complexation considering the influence of a solvent.
» Publication Date: 15/06/2023
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement Nº 768737
