Polyethersulfone/poly(acrylic acid) composite hydrogel membrane reservoirs for controlled delivery of cationic drug formulations

Abstract

We present the innovative synthesis of polyethersulfone/poly(acrylic acid) composite hydrogel membranesperformed by combining photoirradiation with a traditional liquid phase inversion process.Fabricated membranes exhibited ion exchange capacity and water content as high as 5.2 mmol/g and75%, respectively. The chemical composition of the membranes was determined using FTIR-ATR and theirmicrostructure was examined with SEM. Our findings suggest that the use of hydrophilic crosslinker wascrucial for the synthesis of symmetric and mechanically stable composite hydrogel membranes. Passiveand iontophoretic release kinetics from membrane reservoirs synthesized with the hydrophilic crosslinkerwere investigated in vitro using methylene blue as a model drug. Passive release kinetics wasdiffusion-controlled with pH-sensitive and loading-dependent behavior. Linear release kinetics wasdemonstrated during the iontophoretic release. Synthesized composite hydrogel membranes hold a lot ofpromise as compact stand-alone reservoirs for passive and iontophoretic delivery of cationic drugs.