Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/chitosan/sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) hydrogel formulation with freeze-thaw method for anti-tuberculosis drugs extended release

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the infectious diseases which must be routinely oral treated with anti-tuberculosis drugs performed 12-24 months. With treatment using drug implans that can release TB drugs in a longer time in the target location, it will be more effective, because the drug will be close to the target and go directly into the blood. In this study, the PVA / chitosan / STPP hydrogel formulation loaded with 4 types of anti-tuberculosis drugs (isoniazid, ethambutol, pirazinamide, and rifampicin) made using the freeze-thaw method. It is obtained that chitosan addition up until 20% could reduce drug's release rate and hold drug's release until 30 days, but the effect of STPP addition could not be seen because the ammount added is too small which is also shown from FTIR study that there is no STPP in the hydrogel detected. 80% PVA-20% Chitosan- 2% STPP hydrogel formulation release TB drugs the slowest and extended on Isoniazid, Ethambutol, and Rifampicin. SEM study shown that chitosan addition in PVA hydrogel resulted a homogen solution, and hydrogel with densely folded surface. 2% STPP addition resulted in smoother, more homogenous, and smaller pores morphology.