Carboxymethylcellulose hydrogel beads containing quercetin-embedded porous starch: An intestinal tract drug delivery...

In this study, we designed a novel and straightforward intestinal drug delivery system using porous starch (PS) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Initially, native starch (NS) was hydrolyzed into porous starch (PS) using α-amylase (AM) and amyloglucosidase (AMG), with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirming the successful formation of PS. The model drug quercetin (Que) was then adsorbed onto PS, achieving an adsorption efficiency of 86.48%. BET surface area analysis showed that PS had a surface area of 23.1243 m²/g, which decreased to 1.5703 m²/g for QPS, indicating that most of the pores in PS were occupied by Que, as further confirmed by SEM results. The QPS was encapsulated within a CMC matrix to form hydrogel beads (QPS/CMC), which demonstrated a drug loading capacity of 8.57±0.15% and an encapsulation efficiency of 89.73±1.20%. Swelling and in vitro release experiments revealed that the QPS/CMC hydrogel beads exhibited pH sensitivity, releasing the drug in a pH 7.4 environment. These findings suggest that the system holds potential for applications in intestinal drug delivery.