Fabrication, characterization and toxicological evaluation of polyethylene glycol/sodium polystyrene sulfonate hydrogels for controlled delivery of Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen is a white crystalline odorless drug. It decreases the formation of prostaglandins by inhibiting the cyclooxygenase enzyme (COX-3), thus, used in the relieving of pain and fever. The recommended dose of acetaminophen is very high. Due to high dose intake, certain severe adverse effects such as hepatotoxicity and skin rashes are produced. Thus, a drug carrier system is needed to sustain the release of the acetaminophen and also enhance the patient compliance. Therefore, the current study was focused on the development of a new drug delivery system based on polyethylene glycol, sodium polystyrene sulfonate and acrylic acid, used for the controlled delivery of acetaminophen. The prepared hydrogel networks were subjected to a series of studies. An increment was seen in gel fraction, percent porosity, swelling, and drug release with the increasing concentrations of polymers and monomer while a decrease was detected in sol fraction. Similarly, biodegradation study indicated a slow degradation rate for the monomer content as compared to polymers contents. pH-sensitivity of the prepared hydrogel was investigated at three various pH values i.e., 1.2, 4.6, and 7.4 by both swelling and drug release studies. Cytotoxicity study presented no toxic effects on T84 human colon cancer cells. Furthermore, characterizations such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Thermogravimetric Analysis, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and X-ray Diffraction studies were performed to assess their effects on the developed hydrogel. Conclusively, we can demonstrate that the developed hydrogel could be used as a potential candidate for the controlled release of acetaminophen.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).