Danzil, Michael Francis A.; Gabas, Ynac Catherine D.; Jaurigue, John Philip D.; Liwag, Ernest Lance Nixon R.; Marcos, Caroline P.
Synthesis of keratin-hyaluronic acid hydrogel film for sustained-release of gentamicin
- Undergraduate Thesis: (Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering) - Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, 2024
ABSTRACT: Skin infection treatment can be achieved through topical drug delivery systems incorporated with antibiotics. To address the problem of antibiotic resistance, employing sustained release of drug from its drug carrier such as hydrogel films are observed to be a potential material to use. Natural polymers such as keratin are continuously studied as a hydrogel material, however, it lacks enough mechanical integrity on its own. Hence, this study synthesized keratin and hyaluronic acid (K-HA)-based hydrogel film infused with gentamicin in achieve sustained release delivery of the drug. The K-HA hydrogel film was synthesized via the carbodiimide-mediated crosslinking method which formed amide covalent crosslinks to create the polymer matrix. The presence of amide crosslinks was confirmed through the results of FTIR spectroscopy. The K-HA hydrogel film was then tested for its tensile modules, elongation, swelling capacity, and drug release kinetics. The result showed that tensile modules had increased as the amount of keratin decreased which was the opposite for the elongation. The 75-25 K-HA ratio has highest tensile modulus of 0.728 while the 100:0 K-HA ratio has 78.47% elongation. The K-HA ratio significantly influences the tensile modulus and elongation. On the other hand, the K-HA ratio is not significant with the swelling capacity with the highest value observed in 75:25 K-HA. The closest to the optimal formulation with respect to the physical properties among hydrogel films in the ratio of 75:25 K-HA. Lastly, the drug release kinetics of K-HA hydrogel film were modelled using various kinetic models. The model that shows the best fit and has the highest coefficient of determination (R2) is Korsmeyer-Peppas, suggesting that it most accurately describes the Fickian drug release mechanism of gentamicin in K-HA hydrogel film. It is followed by Weibull, zero-order, and first-order models, indicative of the sustained release of gentamicin. Overall, this study successfully achieved synthesizing a keratin-hyaluronic acid-based hydrogel film for sustained release of gentamicin.