Development of chondroitin sulfate-based mucoadhesive interpenetrating polymeric hydrogels of captopril with adjustable properties as gastro-retentive sustained drug release carriers

In this research, we demonstrated a chondroitin sulfate (CHS), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and 2-acrylamide-2-methylpropane sulphonic acid (AMPS)-based captopril-loaded mucoadhesive hydrogel that efficiently facilitated the sustained release of drug molecules and is developed by radical polymerization technique. The designed hydrogel network is initially analyzed for the influence of different formulation ingredients as well as their quantities on swelling behavior and mucoadhesion capacity. The physical interaction along with biocompatibility of CHS/PVP-co-poly (AMPS) hydrogels is illustrated by utilizing FT-IR and histopathological analysis. Thermal stability, conversion of crystalline nature ingredient to amorphous nature hydrogel matrix, prolonged and sustained in vitro released behavior at 1.2 pH, porous surface morphology, and enhanced mucoadhesive characteristics are ensured by thermal analysis, XRD, drug in vitro released profile, SEM, and ex-vivo mucoadhesive analysis. Interestingly, the findings suggest that CHS/PVP-co-poly (AMPS)-based hydrogel systems are viable candidates for sustained delivery of captopril by enhancing its adherence with the gastric mucus layer and decreasing its dose frequency. Graphical abstract