Tragacanth Gum/Trimethyl Chitosan‐Derived Polyelectrolyte Complex as Potential Carriers in Drug Delivery Applications

ABSTRACT A three‐step procedure described in the literature has been used to create N , N , N ‐trimethyl Ct a chitosan derivative that is extremely soluble in water. By combining two polymers in aqueous media, this derivative and tragacanth gum were able to form a new polyelectrolyte complex. The TGA, FTIR, and DSC analysis established the development of TMC/XG‐PEC. SEM was used to describe the TMC/TG‐PEC's surface morphology. The features of diffusion and swelling, such as the theoretical equilibrium ratio, initial swelling rate constant, and the process of water transportation into TMC/TG‐PEC, were established. The TMC/TG‐PEC swelling is seen to be pH‐dependent. It swells in the subsequent order: pH 7.4 > 6.8 > 1.2. At pH 1.2, 6.8, and 7.4, the TMC/TG‐PEC swelling ratio was found to be 6.5, 7.7, and 9.6 g/g, respectively. The second‐order kinetics of the swelling process is indicated by the linearity of the plot “ t /SR” versus “ t ”. The TMC/TG‐PEC's n values under various pH circumstances ranged from 0.12 to 0.16, suggesting the Fickian water transport mechanism. The utility of complex as a matrix for KP formulations for sustained‐release tablets was investigated. It was discovered that 90.5% of KP was loaded into PEC. There is evidence that pH influences how much medicine is released. When the medium's pH was altered from acidic to neutral, the KP release was considerably boosted. The TMC/TG‐PEC demonstrated a maximum drug release of 7% in a pH 1.2 medium and between 85% and 90% in a pH 7.4 medium, demonstrating the TMC/TG‐PEC's potential as a matrix substance for the drug's prolonged release formulations of KP. The Fickian drug transport mechanism was indicated by the release exponent n , which was less than 0.5.