In vitro release study of ketoprofen-loaded chitosan/polyaniline nanofibers

Chitosan/polyaniline nanofibers (CH/PANI) were prepared by an in situ oxidative polymerization of aniline in the presence of CH solution. An attractive development of nanofibers network provides free volume space for the easy encapsulation of drugs in the three-dimensional network structure. The CH/PANI hybrid was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Ketoprofen (KP), a model drug that contains a carboxylic group and a hydrophobic moiety, was loaded into CH/PANI hybrid. The release of KP from the hybrid was recorded in aqueous buffer solutions of pH 2, 6.7 and 7.4 simulating the case of oral administration. The release rate was found to be changing with the pH of the medium. The kinetics of the drug delivery system have been systematically studied by different models, which are commonly used, such as zero order, first order, Hixson–Crowell, Higuchi and Korsmeyer–Peppas models. The mechanism of release of the drug was found to follow the anomalous non-Fickian diffusion.