Controlled-release behavior of ciprofloxacin from a biocompatible polymeric system based on sodium alginate/poly(ethylene glycol) mono methyl ether

In this study, a facile drug release system was developed through a solution casting technique using a combination of sodium alginate (SA), poly(ethylene glycol)monomethyl ether (mPEG) and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CPX). The structure of the membranes was characterized using ATR-FTIR, AFM and the static contact angle (SCA) was determined to find surface nature of membranes. ATR-FTIR confirmed the existence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between SA/mPEG in bio-polymeric membranes. AFM micrographs exhibited the extent of roughness which decreased as the contents of mPEG in the membranes were increased up to 40% (w/w). The SCA values ranged between 24° to 84° (at 0 s) and 14° to 80° (at 60 s) and showed an increase in hydrophilicity due to the incorporation of mPEG. In vitro drug release profile of CPX loaded on a membrane comprising of SA/mPEG (80/20) was evaluated in SGF (pH 1.2) and PBS (pH 7.4) solutions till 3 h. At pH 1.2, the maximum amount of CPX (~80%) was released in 70–120 min while ~75% drug was released in 90–120 min at pH 7.4. The present study demonstrated a facile and cost-effective approach to prepare SA/mPEG membranes that may be potentially employed as a drug delivery system in various biomedical applications.