Montmorillonite-Famotidine/Chitosan Bio-nanocomposite Hydrogels as a Mucoadhesive/Gastroretentive Drug Delivery System

The main purpose of the present study was to fabricate mucoadhesive bio-nanocomposite hydrogels to prolong the drug reten-tion time in the stomach. In these bio-nanocomposite hydrogels, chitosan (CH) was used as a bioadhesive matrix, montmorillonite (MMT) was applied to modulate the release rate, and tripolyphosphate (TPP) was the cross-linking agent. The test samples were analyzed via different methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Drug incorporation efficacy and mucoadhesive strength of these nanocom-posite hydrogel beads were studied. Swelling and in vitro drug release behaviors of these bio-nanocomposite hydrogels were eval-uated in simulated gastric fluid (SGF; pH 1.2). The optimized MMT-famotidine (FMT)/CH bio-nanocomposite hydrogels displayed a controllable and sustainable drug release profile with suitable mucoadhesion and prolonged retention time in the stomach. Thus, the results demonstrated that the fabricated mucoadhesive bio-nanocomposite hydrogels could remarkably increase the therapeu-tic efficacy and bioavailability of FMT by the oral route.

Automated summary

The present study fabricated mucoadhesive bio-nanocomposite hydrogels to prolong the drug retention time in the stomach. These hydrogels exhibited controllable and sustainable drug release, enhanced mucoadhesion, and prolonged retention time in the stomach, leading to increased therapeutic efficacy and bioavailability.