ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Chitosan sponge matrices with β-cyclodextrin for berberine loadinging

Mária Hnátová, Dušan Bakoš, Ľudmila Černáková, and Monika Michliková

Department of Plastics and Rubber, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinského 9, 812 37 Bratislava, Slovakia

E-mail: dusan.bakos@stuba.sk

Abstract: Biocompatible polymer sponge materials based on biodegradable natural polymer chitosan, which can be loaded with clinician-selected drugs are still in the centre of interest for their wide use in clinical practice. This study shows possibilities of the technology which combines simple addition of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), with dialdehyde starch (DAS) as a cross-linking agent of chitosan, to chitosan solutions for subsequent formation of sponge matrix. The advantage of such system is in avoiding chemical modifications and working only with natural substances. It is shown that, in matrix formation during lyophilisation, β-CD molecules tend to accumulate on the surface of the porous matrix structure. This was confirmed by a study of the known inclusion complex of β-CD and salicylic acid (SA) in heptane. The same study was applied to berberine (BER) which can also form an inclusion complex with β-CD in a water solution. Moreover, adsorption of drugs on the surface of the porous structure has to be also taken into account. This enables the production of sponge topical medical preparations useful for sustained release of BER.

Keywords: chitosan sponge matrix – cyclodextrin – surface properties – berberine release – lyophilisation

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1515/chempap-2016-0015

Chemical Papers 70 (9) 1262–1267 (2016)