Controlled release behaviors of chitosan/α,β- glycerophosphate thermo-sensitive hydrogels

Chitosan/α,β-glycerophosphate （CS/α,β-GP） thermo-sensitive hydrogels presented flowable solution state at low temperature and semisolid hydrogel when the ambient temperature increased. In this research, different concentrations of metronida- zole encapsulated, CS and α,β-GP, as well as different acid solvents, were chosen to evaluate their influences on the drug release behaviors from CS/α,β-GP hydrogels. It was found that there was a sustaining release during the first 3 h followed by a plateau. SEM images showed that drugs were located both on the surface and in the interior of hydrogels. The optimal preparation conditions of this hydrogel for drug release were as follows： 1.8% （w/v） CS in HAc solvent, 5.6% （w/v） a, 13-GP and 5g/L metronidazole encapsulation. Cytotoxicity evaluation found no toxic effect. In order to control the release rate, 2.5 g/L chitosan microspheres with spherical shape and smooth surface were incorporated, and it was found that the initial release process was alleviated, while drug concentration had no obvious effect on the release rate. It could be concluded that the metronidzole release behaviors could be optimized according to practical applica- tions.