Release of ciprofloxacin from gamma-irradiated PEGDA-chitosan hydrogel

Hydrogels are three-dimensional (3D) polymeric networks that have been used in many applications, including drug delivery, wound dressing, and tissue engineering. This study aimed to develop gamma-irradiated poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate and chitosan (PEGDA-Chi) hydrogel as a 3D scaffold for antibiotic encapsulation. Ciprofloxacin (CPFX) was used as a model antibiotic to study the encapsulation and release properties of the hydrogels containing antibiotic. Gel fraction, absorption capacity, and in vitro antibiotic release analyses are used to characterize the PEGDA- Chi hydrogel containing CPFX. In vitro release experiment in phosphate-buffered saline of the hydrogels containing CPFX showed that 25 kGy of PEGDA-Chi hydrogel released higher CPFX (97.34±0.41%) within 150 minutes than that 25 kGy of PEGDA hydrogel (87.96±0.83%) did. Antibacterial activity of the hydrogels containing CPFX evaluated by disk diffusion method showed that the hydrogels displayed antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus. Taken together, these results suggest that the PEGDA-Chi hydrogel containing ciprofloxacin could be used as an antibacterial 3D scaffolding material.