Fabrication of polycaprolactone-xanthan gum-based membranes as potential drug carrier to control the growth of cancer cells and microbial strains

In biomaterials research, natural and hydrophilic polymers received considerable attention for their exceptional properties viz . biocompatibility, profound cell attachment, non-toxicity, biodegradation rate, etc. In the state of the art, xanthan gum, hydroxylpropyl methyl cellulose and polyethylene glycol were blended with synthetic polycaprolactone for the fabrication of polymeric membranes to study the change in physico-chemical and biological property in eradicating the cancerous cells and growth inhibition of microbial strains through drug delivery. The hydrogen bonding interactions and crosslinking bond formation were clearly observed from spectral lines. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed the surface features like porosity and chemical composition, and an increasing trend in surface wettability (92 to 30.1°) was observed through contact angle measurements and the mechanical properties were also tested for the prepared membranes. A higher drug loading capacity (> 90%) was achieved and the same amount was successfully released from the membrane in a controlled manner. It was further confirmed by the zero-order kinetics with diffusion controlled release mechanism found by Higuchi model. The prepared membranes showed more than 70% of anticancer activity against human breast cancer cell line and exhibited moderate (15–55%) cytotoxic effects against normal fibroblast cell line. The growth of selected bacterial and fungal strains was well controlled by the membranes. Finally, the rate of degradation was successfully studied for a period of more than one and half a year. In a nut shell, the obtained results clearly revealed that the prepared membranes may find a suitable position in the class of biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering implants.