Drug release kinetics from carboxymethylcellulose-bacterial cellulose composite films

[Display omitted] •Composite films of NaCMC–BC cross-linked with citric acid were obtained.•The composite films have been characterized by FTIR, SEM and swelling ratio.•The release rate of ibuprofen sodium salt depends on films composition.•A mathematical model was tested to explain drug release mechanism. Composite films of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and bacterial cellulose (NaCMC–BC) cross-linked with citric acid (CA) were prepared by solution casting method. Ibuprofen sodium salt (IbuNa) has been used to study the mechanism of drug release from composite films. Surface morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and proved that the BC content influences the aspect of the films. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed specific peaks in IR spectra of composite films which sustain that NaCMC was cross-linked with CA. Starting from swelling observations, the release kinetic of IbuNa was described using a model which neglects the volume expansion due to polymer swelling and which considers non-linear diffusion coefficients for drug and solvent. The IbuNa release is also influenced by BC content, the drug release rate was decreasing with the increase of BC content.