Designing carrageenan-based hydrogels for drug delivery applications: Evaluation of physiochemical and biomedical properties

This research article presents the potential of naturally occurring seaweed polysaccharides in developing functional materials for use in biomedical applications, focusing on sustainable development. Herein, Carrageenan (CG) was utilized to design hydrogels for use in drug delivery (DD) applications. These hydrogels were prepared by copolymerization reaction of poly(bis[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] phosphate and poly(acrylamide) onto CG by covalent and supramolecular interactions. Copolymers were characterized by Field emission-scanning electron micrographs (FE-SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD). FESEM images revealed uneven heterogeneous morphology while XRD revealed development of amorphous short range orders of polymer chains. The hydrogel revealed 177 % RD cell viability which indicated non-cytotoxicity to mammalian cells. The hydrogels also promoted proliferation of cells which is useful for cell adhesion, wound dressings and tissue engineering applications. The release of antibiotic drug vancomycin from hydrogels occurred in sustained manner and obeyed non-Fickian diffusion mechanism. The drug release data was best described by Higuchi kinetic model. Drug encapsulated hydrogel exhibited antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa, E. coli and S. aureus bacteria. The copolymers revealed biocompatibility during polymer-blood interaction while polymer-mucus membrane interaction demonstrated their mucoadhesive nature. Antioxidant nature of copolymers was demonstrated in DPPH free radicals scavenging assay. These properties suggested that hydrogel could be explored to design drug delivery systems.