Synthesis and characterization of carboxymethyl chitosan/Fe3O4 and MnFe2O4 nanocomposites hydrogels for loading and release of curcumin

This paper presents the preparation of hydrogel with magnetic properties derived from carboxymethyl chitosan for controlled drug release performance. The magnetic Fe3O4 and MnFe2O4 nanoparticles with crosslinked Carboxymethyl Chitosan hydrogel were prepared by using epichlorohydrin as the cross-linker. The structure characterization performed by FT-IR. The XRD analysis was applied for evaluation of crystalline phase of MnFe2O4 and Fe3O4 in the hydrogels. The crystallite size of Fe3O4/CMCS and MnFe2O4/CMCS was calculated to be 30.12, and 44.51 nm, respectively. The presence of MnFe2O4 and Fe3O4 in the hydrogels can reason a rough surface morphology which that confirmed by SEM images. The Max. Saturation magnetization value as obtained from hysteresis loop is 105 and 75 Am2/kg for Fe3O4/CMCS and MnFe2O4/CMCS hydrogel, respectively. The Fe3O4 and MnFe2O4 on Carboxymethyl Chitosan hydrogels indicated a pH-sensitive for swelling behavior process. The equal amount of Fe3O4 and MnFe2O4 on hydrogels have high swelling at pH 6.4. The swelling capacity decreased from 214 to 172% and 144–114% at pH 6.4 with attendance of high amount of MnFe2O4 and Fe3O4 on hydrogels compared to other samples, respectively. Drug loading and release performances were investigated by curcumin as a model drug. The maximum curcumin release was obtained 25.1–51.52% at pH = 6.4. The drug releases system demonstrates the high ratio of Fe3O4 and MnFe2O4 containing Carboxymethyl Chitosan sample has a great efficiency in curcumin release. The effect of applied magnetic field on drug release for Fe3O4/CMCS was highest compared to MnFe2O4/CMCS. The results demonstrated that the Fe3O4 and MnFe2O4 nanocomposites hydrogel can be applied for novel drug delivery systems.