Preparation and evaluation of Sulfadiazine loaded T908/PVP hydrogels for transdermal drug delivery through solution blow spun nanofibers. Study abstract

This study investigated the formulation, ionic conductivity, swelling properties, thermosresponsive behavior of hydrogels made of Pluronic T908 and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and their ability to enhance the solubility of the widely used antibiotic Sulfadiazine (SDZ) in aqueous solutions. To maximize the circumstances to produce a homogenous hydrogel, different concentration ratios of the two polymers were assessed. Critical transitions depending on the composition and content of polymers were identified through mapping the phase behavior under controlled heating. Ionic conductivity experiments revealed that despite both polymers are nonionic, PVP could slightly increase the ionic mobility of H2O ions, on the other hand, T908rich formulations considerably increased ionic mobility and conductivity due to micelle formation. The Arrhenius equation was used to determine the activation energy (Ea) for ion transport, and the results showed that conductivity improved at intermediate T908: PVP ratios. T908 integration improved water uptake and decreased polymer rigidity, according to swelling studies; 30 wt.%T908 pure solution showed around four times higher swelling capacity than PVP solution at the same wt.%. And the solution mixture 25% T908 5% PVP showed the maximum water uptake among the evaluated mixture formulations.

After that, SDZ was loaded into variant formulations of T908 and PVP solutions and studies proved that both pure polymer solutions and mixtures of two polymers enhanced the solubility of SDZ in comparison to H2O alone. The combined findings of this study shed light on how to modify PVP-T908 hydrogels to be used in biomedical uses and medication delivery.