A comparative analysis of carboxymethyl tamarind kernel gum-based hydrogels for ciprofloxacin delivery

In the current study, four different combinations of hydrogels were synthesized using carboxymethyl tamarind kernel gum (CMTKG), synthetic polymers: polysodiumacrylate (PSA) and polyacrylamide (PAM) and Graphene Oxide (GO) as a filler, and Ciprofloxacin (Cip) as a model drug and then characterized. The swelling behavior of hydrogel reveals the order as Distilled Water (DW) (pH 7) > pH 7.4 > pH 1.2. The gel content (%) of the hydrogels was 79 (D1), 68.7 (D2), 88 (D3), and 76 (D4). Further, studies such as drug loading and drug release were carried out at simulated pH 7.4, pH 5.5, and pH 1.2, which reveals that the maximum drug release (%) was exhibited by D3 (86), followed by D1 (82), D4 (70), and D2 (61) at pH 7.4. The Korsmeyer-Peppa's model suggested the best fit with R² = 0.99 for all. Additionally, the antibacterial activity reveals the inhibition zone (mm) for 24 (D1), 16 (D2), 30 (D3), and 19 (D4) hydrogels. The cytotoxicity of hydrogels indicated that the cell survival rate was >68 % in <250 μg/mL concentration for all hydrogels. Hence, incorporating GO can potentially enhance the drug release ability, bactericidal property, and cell survival rate of the hydrogels.