The effect of thiol functional groups on bovine serum albumin/chitosan buccal mucoadhesive patches

In this research, the effect of thiol functional groups on bovine serum albumin (BSA)/chitosan (Chi) based buccal mucoadhesive patch was investigated. Thiolated BSA (BSA-SH) was prepared via 2-mercaptoethanol. FTIR and 1H NMR results confirmed that BSA-SH was synthesized successfully. The buccal mucoadhesive patches were fabricated by the solvent casting method. Following the structural characterization of BSA/Chi and BSA-SH/Chi buccal patches, the mechanical characterization was performed by tensile tests. The drug release from triamcinolone acetonide (TR) loaded buccal patches was evaluated in-vitro in simulated salivary. According to the ex-vivo buccal adhesion experiments, the mechanical and mucoadhesion properties of BSA-SH/Chi buccal patch had improved compared to BSA/Chi buccal patch. The total cumulative TR permeated after 12 h was higher for BSA-SH/Chi than BSA/Chi buccal patches. The developed mucoadhesive buccal patches were found to be biocompatible in vitro. To conclude, the thiolated BSA-SH/Chi buccal adhesive patch is a promising biomaterial for a satisfied drug delivery, which provides advantages for various oral applications. [Display omitted] •BSA and thiolated BSA/chitosan were formulated.•Tensile strength was improved by thiol functional groups on BSA.•Enhancement of mucoadhesion performance by thiol functional groups.•Buccal patches were biocompatible with L929 fibroblasts cell line.•The drug release from TR loaded patches were investigated in-vitro in simulated salivary.