SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF COMPOSITE CHITOSAN-BASED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM LOADED WITH A CYTOKINE

Abstract

Сhitosan is a naturally occurring biomaterial with great potential in tissue engineering, wound healing, and drug delivery. Its various properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and antimicrobial activity make it an attractive candidate for biomedical applications. In addition, chitosan can be synthesized into various conformations, including nanoparticles, scaffolds, hydrogel, and cryogel. Among them, cryogel is considered one of the practical conformations due to its macroporous structure and enhanced mechanical strength. In this study, macroporous cryogel composed of chitosan (CHI), hydroxyapatite (HA), heparin (Hep), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) cross-linked with glutaraldehyde (GA) was synthesized to design a drug-delivery system. The compounds mentioned above were chosen to create a cryogel with enhanced mechanical strength, biocompatibility, lower degradation rate, and bioavailability. The study's main purpose was to examine a controlled release of a drug from composite cryogel. In order to observe the sustained release of a drug from the designed drug-delivery system, cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) was incorporated into composite chitosan cryogel. As a result, CHI-PVA-HA-Hep-GA proved to be an effective drug-delivery system as it was able to release IL-10 in a controlled manner. Designed composite cryogel might have a high potential as a therapeutic agent in tissue engineering and the treatment of various diseases.