Investigation of Carrageenan Aerogel Microparticles as a Potential Drug Carrier

Abstract

Carrageenan is an anionic polysaccharide offering many advantages to be used in drug delivery applications. These include availability, thermo-stability, low toxicity, and encapsulating properties. Combination of these properties with aerogel properties like large surface area and porosity make them an ideal candidate for drug adsorption and delivery applications. Emulsion-gelation technique was used to prepare carrageenan gel microparticles with supercritical CO for drying and loading purposes. Ibuprofen has been selected as a model drug for drug loading inside. The prepared microparticles were characterized using particle size analysis, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, density measurements, surface area, and porosity measurements. Finally, dissolution was applied to the loaded preparations to test in vitro drug release. Ibuprofen was successfully loaded in the amorphous form inside the prepared microparticles with a significant enhancement in the drug release profile. In conclusion, prepared carrageenan aerogel microparticles showed an excellent potential for use as a drug carrier.

Carrageenan: Drug Delivery Systems and Other Biomedical Applications

“…The major applications in the field of biomedicine are shown as a schematic layout in Figure 6 . CGs are applied in various pharmaceutical formulations, including tablets [ 106 , 108 ], suppositories [ 109 , 110 ], films [ 111 ], fast-dissolving inserts (FDIs) [ 63 ], beads [ 112 , 113 ], pellets [ 114 , 115 , 116 ], microparticles [ 117 , 118 , 119 ], nanoparticles [ 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 ], inhalable systems, injectables [ 126 ], and hydrogels [ 127 , 128 , 129 ]. In addition, recent studies have shown that CGs are promising candidates in tissue engineering, thanks to their similarity to native glycosaminoglycans [ 127 , 128 , 130 , 131 ].…”

“…Ibuprofen was selected as a model drug and the formulation was prepared using the emulsion-gelation technique. The prepared CG aerogel microparticles showed significant potential for use as a drug carrier, as ibuprofen was successfully loaded in the amorphous form inside the prepared microparticles with a notable enhancement in the drug release profile [ 118 ].…”

<p>Engineering of Aerogel-Based Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications</p>

“…The biodegradable carrageenan aerogel-based microparticles had high specific surface area (ranging between 33 and 174 m 2 /g), and good pore volumes and sizes. Obaidat et al 89 reported a emulsion-gelation technique to prepare carrageenan aerogelbased microparticles, and the drug of Ibuprofen was successfully loaded in these porous microparticles. These aerogel-based microparticles displayed significantly enhanced drug release properties.…”

A Review on Revolutionary Natural Biopolymer-Based Aerogels for Antibacterial Delivery

“…Aerogel have been also fabricated from other biopolymers such as pectin [ 62 ], starch [ 63 ], carrageenan [ 64 ], agar [ 65 ], and xanthan [ 10 , 66 ]. Nešić et al fabricated environmentally friendly pectin-based aerogel using TiO 2 as an antibacterial agent.…”