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Check it out everyone, Megan’s new paper “Entirely biomass-derived hydrogel composites for possible applications in drug delivery” is available in Thieme’s new journal Sustainability & Circularity NOW (https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-2487-4285).
In this article, hydrogel materials were created by incorporating soft-calcite originating from blue mussel shells into chitosan-alginate beads. The beads had a core containing chitosan and soft calcite (0 – 2.5 wt.%) while the outer layer was made of alginate. The samples were characterized and observed with multiple techniques including SEM, FT-IR, and TGA.
During encapsulation studies, they used three solutions to determine swelling within biological solutions: 0.1 M HCl (surrogate gastric fluid), 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer (surrogate intestinal fluid), and deionized water. Methylene blue was used as a model drug during encapsulation efficiency and release studies. While beads containing soft calcite swelled less in HCl compared to control experiments, the swelling didn’t change when immersed in potassium phosphate buffer. Despite the overall reduced encapsulation efficiency of hydrogels made with soft calcite, it was observed that methylene blue was released in a significantly more controlled manner.
This study proves that it’s possible to prepare hydrogels that are entirely biomass-based and have the potential to be used in drug delivery applications. Replacing petroleum-based materials with wasted biomass is a big step towards ultimately achieving a circular economy.
Congratulations again Megan! ☺️
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Green Chemistry @ MUN 