Biocompatible carboxymethylcellulose-g-poly(acrylic acid)/OMMT nanocomposite hydrogel for in vitro release of vitamin B12

The present work describes the preparation of a biocompatible nanocomposite hydrogel based on CMC-g-PAA and organo-MMT nanoclay by using methylene bis-acrylamide (MBA) as a cross-linker and potassium persulfate (KPS) as an initiator through radical graft polymerization. The nanocomposite hydrogels were characterized by using techniques such as FTIR, SEM and XRD analysis. The effects of various parameters on the swelling behaviour of the hydrogels were studied. The mechanical strength of the nanocomposite hydrogels was determined by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and all the samples showed an increase in the storage modulus (G') with an increase in cross-linker amount. The in vitro biocompatibility of the nanocomposite hydrogels showed that the presence of nanoclay in the nanocomposite hydrogel enhanced the in vitro blood compatibility. The vitamin B-12 release mechanism has been studied during different time periods using a UV-visible spectrophotometer. The drug release kinetics revealed that release of vitamin B-12 follows a non-Fickian diffusion mechanism.