Bioderived cellulose fibre-guar gum grafted poly (N, N'-dimethylacrylamide) polymer network for controlled release of metformin hydrochloride

Recent updates on guar gum derivatives in colon specific drug delivery

Colon specific delivery of therapeutics have gained much attention of pharmaceutical researchers in the recent past. Colonic specific targeting of drugs is used not only for facilitating absorption of protein or peptide drugs, but also localization of therapeutic agents in colon to treat several colonic disorders. Among various biopolymers, guar gum (GG) exhibits pH dependent swelling, which allows colon specific release of drug. GG also shows microbial degradation in the colonic environment which makes it a suitable excipient for developing colon specific drug delivery systems. The uncontrolled swelling and hydration of GG can be controlled by structural modification or by grafting with another polymeric moiety. Several graft copolymerized guar gum derivatives are investigated for colon targeting of drugs. The efficacy of various guar gum derivatives are evaluated for colon specific delivery of drugs. The reviewed literature evidenced the potentiality of guar gum in localizing drugs in the colonic environment. This review focuses on the synthesis of several guar gum derivatives and their application in developing various colon specific drug delivery systems including matrix tablets, coated formulations, nano or microparticulate delivery systems and hydrogels.

Fabrication of a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-grafted alginate composite aerogel for efficient treatment of emulsified oily wastewater

The treatment of emulsion wastewater poses significant challenges. In this study, a novel porous material, namely esterified bagasse/poly(N, N-dimethylacrylamide)/sodium alginate (SBS/PDMAA/Alg) aerogel, was developed for efficient demulsification and oil recovery. By grafting a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) brush onto the SBS/PDMAA/Alg skeleton through free radical polymerization, the resulting aerogel exhibits both surface charge and a molecular brush structure. The aerogel demonstrates remarkable demulsification efficiency for cationic surfactant-stabilized emulsions at various concentrations, achieving a demulsification efficiency of 95.6% even at an oil content of 100 g L-1. Furthermore, the molecular brush structure extends the application range of the aerogel, enabling a demulsification efficiency of 98.3% for anionic and non-ionic surfactant-stabilized emulsions. The interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) structure formed by SBS, PDMAA, and alginate enhances the mechanical stability of the aerogel, enabling a demulsification efficiency of 91.3% even after 20 repeated cycles. The demulsification ability of the composite aerogel is attributed to its surface charge, high interfacial activity, and unique brush-like structure. A demulsification mechanism based on the synergistic effect of surface charge and molecular brush is proposed to elucidate the efficient demulsification process.