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CC BY 4.0 · Sustainability & Circularity NOW 2025; 02: a24874285
DOI: 10.1055/a-2487-4285
Original Article

Entirely Biomass-Derived Hydrogel Composites for Possible Applications in Drug Delivery

Megan M. Fitzgerald
1   Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X7, Canada
,
Melissa A. Morgan
1   Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X7, Canada
,
Francesca M. Kerton 
1   Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X7, Canada
› Author AffiliationsSupported by: Memorial University of Newfoundland
Supported by: Canada Foundation for Innovation
Supported by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Supported by: Department of Industry, Energy and Technology
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Abstract

Entirely biomass-based chitosan-alginate hydrogel composites were prepared using mussel-derived calcite. Composite hydrogel beads were prepared with 0.0, 1.0, and 2.5 wt % calcite and were characterized using IR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Diameters of beads were measured to ensure uniform preparation. The swelling behavior of beads was tested in 0.1 M HCl, 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer, and deionized water at 37 °C. Beads containing calcite were found to have significantly less swelling ability in 0.1 M HCl and deionized water, but in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer, no change in swelling ability was observed for beads containing zero calcite compared with those containing calcite. Encapsulation efficiency (EE) measurements of methylene blue, as a model drug, showed that 0.0 wt % calcite beads had an EE of 80.8% and those containing calcite had lower EE: 60.7% (1.0 wt % calcite) and 71.6% (2.5 wt % calcite). Methylene blue release in a surrogate gastric environment (0.1 M HCl followed by 0.1 K buffer) showed that 0.0 wt % calcite beads had the least controlled release, whereas those containing calcite showed controlled release. Drug release results were found to be significant through a one-way ANOVA test (p < 0.05). TGA data show that SC levels in beads after placement in a surrogate gastric fluid (0.1 M HCl) are significantly reduced due to the reaction between calcite and HCl.

Keywords

Biomaterials - Renewable - Calcium carbonate - Blue economy - Biomass - Polysaccharides - Drug release

Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 11 October 2024

Accepted after revision: 22 November 2024

Accepted Manuscript online:
25 November 2024

Article published online:
11 February 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Bibliographical Record
Megan M. Fitzgerald, Melissa A. Morgan, Francesca M. Kerton. Entirely Biomass-Derived Hydrogel Composites for Possible Applications in Drug Delivery. Sustainability & Circularity NOW 2025; 02: a24874285.
DOI: 10.1055/a-2487-4285
 

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