Synthesis and evaluation of functionalized chitosan-hydrogelation towards the efficacy of hydrophobic drug delivery

Self-fluorescent hydrogels of modified Chitosan (Ch) in chitosan@2-hydroxy-5-methylbenzaldehyde (ChP1), chitosan@2-hydroxy-5-methylisophthalaldehyde (ChP2) with variation of crosslinking modes were synthesized. The formation of CN for the gelation is indicated through reduction of peak intensity at 1578 cm^-1 in Raman spectra. Based on their hydrogelation and their variation of functionalities, they demonstrated distinctions in self-healing ability, optical appearance, binding aptitudes for drugs and drug release using surfactant along with at site of action. Cytocompatibility studies towards HEK293 and A549 cell lines have been performed. A correlation study between degree of gelation or crosslinking of ChP1 and ChP2 have accounted for their efficacy as carriers through drug loading and release of curcumin as a model. In-vitro drug release of hydrophobic drug curcumin was performed using SDS and Tween 80 in pH 4 and 7 at 37 °C in shaking condition. The current research has scrutinized for ChP1 and ChP2 towards the evaluation of drug loading and drug delivery at site of action. The assessment of their efficacy has been carried out to examine their enhanced antioxidant and improved binding aptitudes with HSA protein. Thus, both fluorescent-hydrogels have potential biomaterials with tuneable mechanics, environmental sensitivity, and bioactivity, suitable for next-generation drug delivery applications.