Sustained Ampicillin Loading and Releasing Ability of Novel In-Situ Ca²⁺ Functionalized Ternary GO/PVP/CMC Nanocomposite Hydrogel

A novel pH sensitive antibiotic carrier hydrogel was synthesized having sustained drug releasing capabilities. The in-situ polymerization of Graphene oxide (GO), Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), and Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) of varying stoichiometry having Ca²⁺ as a linker yielded ternary nanocomposite hydrogels GO/PVP/CMC-II and GO/PVP/CMC-III. The physicochemical, structural, morphological and swelling properties of the binary nanocomposite GO/PVP and ternary nanocomposite hydrogels, GO/PVP/CMC were investigated using FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA and DTA. FTIR and XRD confirm successive formation of ternary hydrogels. The hydrogels swelling studies at various pH levels viz. 4.5, 7 and 9.2, show that the swelling ability can be proportionally correlated with CMC concentration. To ensure the efficacy of this innovative hydrogel drug release application, an in vitro Ampicillin loading and release efficiency experiment at pH 7.2 (close to blood pH 7.3–7.5) was performed. Ternary hydrogels GO/PVP/CMC-II and GO/PVP/CMC-III exhibited sustained drug loading and release kinetics (72 h).