Surface modification and evaluation of bacterial cellulose for drug delivery

The current study was designed to prepare surface modified BC matrices loaded with model drugs selected on the basis of their aqueous solubility, i.e., poorly water soluble famotidine and highly water soluble tizanidine. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed the successful drug loading and thermal stability of the BC matrices. In-vitro dissolution studies using USP type-II dissolution apparatus showed that most of the drug was released in 0.5-3 h from famotidine loaded matrices and in 0.25-0.5 h from tizanidine loaded matrices. The chemical structure, concentration of the loaded drug, concentration of the surface modifier, and pre- and post-drug loading modifications altered the physicochemical properties of BC matrices, which in turn affected the drug release behavior. In general, surface modification of the BC matrices enhanced the drug release retardant properties in pre-modification drug loading. Surface modification was found to be effective for controlling the drug release properties of BC. Therefore, these modified BC matrices have the potential for applications in modified drug delivery systems.