pH-responsive chitosan dendrimer hydrogels enabling controlled cefixime release

The controlled and targeted release is a major challenge for the researchers in order to maintain bioavailability of drugs without leaving physicochemical side effects. Almost 50 % of cefixime (CFX) is eliminated via urinary route due to its poor bioavailability. Therefore, in the present work, chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide (GO) hydrogels were prepared by varying the amount of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) for the controlled CFX release. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscope were used to determine binding patterns, thermal stabilities, and surface morphologies respectively. Cell viability assessment revealed the improved cytocompatibility against HEK-293 cells. In distilled water, the highest swelling (46056 %) was demonstrated by CAB-1 and non-Fickian diffusion model was followed. In addition, all the hydrogels demonstrated maximum swelling at pH 4. PAMAM imparted thermal and bio-degradational stabilities. By the increase in concentration of PAMAM, swelling % and bactericidal activities vs. Escherichia coli and Psuedomonas aeruginosa were decreased. The hydrogels demonstrated biodegradability in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and proteinase-K solution. The CFX release was determined by UV–Visible spectrophotometer. In 8.5 h, 84.98 % and 80.14 % of CFX was released in simulated gastric fluid and PBS solution, respectively. The chitosan-based hydrogel frameworks presented biocompatible, biodegradable, and cytocompatible platform for drug delivery and other medico-biological applications.