Hydrogel Films of Citric Acid Cross-linked Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose/Methylcellulose for Hydrophilic Drug Delivery

Aim: To develop hydrogel films for hydrophilic drug delivery with citric acid-cross-linked Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC) and Methylcellulose (MC). Materials and Methods: The existing study is concerned with the development of HPMC/MC hydrogel films employing citric acid as a cross-linking agent in order to accomplish drug loading while simultaneously releasing hydrophilic drugs (ciprofloxacin hydrochloride). Thermal analysis and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy were used to explore the hydrogel films. Drug loading, drug content, swelling ratio, in vitro drug release, carboxyl content, and hemolytic assay were all measured on the films. Cross-linking through ester development was revealed by ATR-FTIR spectra, whereas drug loading and crosslinking by means of ester formation were validated by thermal analysis as well as SEM. Results: A good equilibrium swelling ratio of 14.71 was found in phosphate buffer pH 7.4. With low carboxyl content, the citric acid-cross-linked hydrogel films swelled the most and showed better drug release. The addition of methylcellulose aided in the creation of firm, homogeneous hydrogel films for loading and dispensing ciprofloxacin hydrochloride. Conclusion: The hydrogel films' biocompatibility was demonstrated using a hemolytic experiment. It was observed that HPMC/MC hydrogel films that had been cross-linked with citric acid showed a tendency to sustain the release of hydrophilic drugs for up to 4 hr.