Microwave assisted synthesis of acrylamide grafted locust bean gum and its application in drug delivery

•Microwave assisted grafting of acrylamide onto locust bean gum.•Biodegradable and non-toxic nature of the modified gum.•The viscosity of modified gum is less than that of its native form.•Comparable rate control release mechanism with HPMC K15M.•pH dependent release profile. Acrylamide grafted copolymer of locust bean gum was prepared by microwave irradiation using ceric ammonium nitrate as redox initiator. The grafting process was optimized in terms of irradiation time, amount of initiator and acrylamide by using constant amount of native locust bean gum. The grafted gum was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction study (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), elemental analysis, contact angle, viscosity, molecular weight, swelling and biodegradability studies. The grafted gum was found to be biodegradable and non-toxic. It was further used to prepare controlled-release matrix tablet of buflomedil hydrochloride. The in vitro release profile of the tablet showed the rate controlling property of acrylamide grafted locust bean gum was similar to that of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC-K15M).