pH and ionic sensitive chitosan/carboxymethyl chitosan IPN complex films for the controlled release of coenzyme A

pH and ionic sensitive interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) complex films based on chitosan (CS) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CM-CS) were prepared by using glutaraldehyde as crosslinking agent. Its structure was characterized by FT-IR, which indicated that the IPN was formed. The films were studied by swelling, weight loss with time, and release of coenzyme A (CoA). It was found that the IPN films were sensitive to pH and ionic strength of the medium. The cumulative release rate of CoA decreased with CoA loading content, ionic strength or crosslinking agent increasing. The composition of the IPN films and pH of release medium also had significant effect on the release of CoA. The differences in the rates and amounts of released CoA may be attributed to the swelling behavior, the degradation of films, and interaction between drug molecule and polymer matrix. These results suggested CS/CM-CS IPN films could be used as drug delivery carrier.