Release of Anticancer Drug 5-Fluorouracil from Different Ionically Crosslinked Alginate Beads

In this research, the release of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) from different ionically crosslinked alginate (Alg) beads was investigated by using Fe super( 3+), Al super( 3+), Zn super( 2+) and Ca super( 2+) ions as crosslinking agent. The prepared beads were characterized by Fou- rier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Scanning Electron Micros- copy (SEM). The drug release studies were carried out at three pH values 1.2, 6.8 and 7.4 respectively each for two hours. The effects of the preparation conditions as crosslinker type, drug/polymer (w/w) ratio, crosslinker concentration and time of exposure to crosslinker on the release of 5-FU were investigated for 6 hours at 37 degree C. It was observed that 5-FU release from the beads followed the order of Fe > Zn > Al > Ca-Alg and increased with increasing drug/polymer ratio. At the end of 6 hours, the highest 5-FU release was found to be 90% (w/w) for Fe-Alg beads at the drug/polymer ratio of 1/8 (w/w), crosslinker concentration of 0.05 M, exposure time of 10 minutes respectively. The swelling measurements of the beads supported the release results. Release kinetics was described by Fickian and non-Fickian approaches.