Radiation grafting of N-vinylcaprolactam onto nano and macrogels of chitosan: Synthesis and characterization

Angélica Cruz; Lorena García-Uriostegui; Alejandra Ortega; Takashi Isoshima; Guillermina Burillo

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.08.083

Radiation grafting of N-vinylcaprolactam onto nano and macrogels of chitosan: Synthesis and characterization

Carbohydr Polym. 2017 Jan 2:155:303-312. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.08.083. Epub 2016 Aug 29.

Authors

Angélica Cruz¹, Lorena García-Uriostegui², Alejandra Ortega¹, Takashi Isoshima³, Guillermina Burillo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, México 04510, D.F., Mexico.
² CONACYT Research Fellow at Departamento de Madera Celulosa y Papel-Universidad de Guadalajara, Carretera Guadalajara-Nogales Km. 15.5, Zapopan, Jalisco 45110, Mexico.
³ Nano Medical Engineering Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
⁴ Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, México 04510, D.F., Mexico. Electronic address: burillo@nucleares.unam.mx.

PMID: 27702516
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.08.083

Abstract

The aim of this study was to synthesize chitosan hydrogels, in macro- and nano-size, grafted with N-vinylcaprolactam (NVCL) using gamma radiation, and evaluate their potential application as a drug delivery system, using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as a model drug. The effect of dose and monomer concentration in the grafting process was studied, and the materials were characterized by FTIR, TGA, DLS, SEM and AFM. Higher grafting percentages were observed for the nanogels system. Although both the grafted macro- and nanogels, (net-CS)-g-NVCL, showed a response to pH (4.75) and temperature (31-33°C), the nanogels showed a better swelling response to both stimuli because of their higher surface area. Both systems were able to load 5-FU in small amounts (2-3.5mgg^-1) and the release was sustained for more than 12h, showing that the modified macro and nanogels can be a potential alternative for the administration of drugs.

Keywords: Chitosan grafting; N-vinylcaprolactam; Nanogels of chitosan; Radiation grafting.