Cu-crosslinked carboxymethylcellulose/naproxen/graphene quantum dot nanocomposite hydrogel beads for naproxen oral delivery

In this work, copper acetate was used as a new physical crosslinker to prepare carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) based hydrogel nanocomposite beads. Due to the characteristics of the prepared CMC-based hydrogel nanocomposite beads such as mildness, simplicity, and the creation of small and uniform shapes, the presented procedure could attract great consideration in the field of controlled release of drugs. Naproxen (NPX) as a model drug was pre-loaded during the preparation of hydrogel beads. The prepared Cu-crosslinked carboxymethylcellulose/NPX/graphene quantum dot nanocomposite hydrogel beads (Cu-CMC/NPX/GQD) characterized using FT-IR, Zeta potential, DSC and SEM analysis methods In order to demonstrate the efficiency of the prepared nanocomposite beads as a controlled drug delivery system, the drug delivery tests carried out in the gastrointestinal tract simulated conditions. The resulted drug release analysis showed that CMC could effectively protect the loaded drug against stomach pH. With controlling the releases in the gastrointestinal tract conditions, the long-term stability of drug dosing enhanced. The MTT test demonstrated that the hydrogel nanocomposite beads have low toxicity against Caco-2 cells. The obtained results showed that the prepared beads could be a choice for drug capsule in the gastrointestinal tract conditions; furthermore, it potentially could be used as an oral drug delivery system.