Sustained delivery of atenolol drug using gum dammar crosslinked polyacrylamide and zirconium based biodegradable hydrogel composites

In order to utilize drugs to maximum and to minimize their adverse effects on human health we have used crosslinked graft co-polymer of natural gum polysaccharide i.e. Gum dammar (Gd) and acrylamide i.e. Gd-cl-poly(AAm) and its organo-inorganic hydrogel composite with zirconium (i.e. ZHC) for sustained release of atenolol drug. Swelling kinetics of both the synthesized polymers were studied by applying different swelling kinetics models to the experimental swelling data. Moreover, environmental-friendly nature of both the polymers was studied using composting as well as soil burial methods of polymer degradation. Continuous progress of biodegradation at different stages was checked through FTIR and SEM characterization techniques. Furthermore, it was observed that the incorporation of zirconium within hydrogel polymer matrix did not affect its environment-friendly nature. In drug delivery studies, the value of diffusion coefficient i.e. n was found to be between 0.60–1.23 for Gd-cl-poly(AAm) and between 0.21–1.08 for ZHC at different pH values. Moreover, in case of both the polymers, the value of lateral diffusion coefficient was lower than initial diffusion coefficient which predicted that the drug release was higher in the initial stages as compared to later stages.