Mehta et al

SUPERPOROUS
HYDROGEL
GENERATION OF HYDROGELS

COMPOSITES-A

NEW

ALISHA MEHTA*, DEEPTI PANDITA

Department of Pharmaceutics, JCDM College of Pharmacy, P.O. Box 81, Barnala Road,
Sirsa-125055, Haryana, India
For correspondence: E-mail-mehtaalisha08@yahoo.com
RBIP: 81

Science Instinct Publications

Abstract

Conventional nonporous hydrogels have certain limitations such as slow swelling, low loading
capacities and ultimately dissolve over time in the presence of sufficient water or the swelling
medium which restrict their use in effective drug delivery. Also they are currently commercially
available in powder form (small particle size) as particle size inversely affects the rate of water
absorption. These limitations can be overcome by utilizing superporous structures called
superporous hydrogels (SPH) in which water absorption is dominated by a capillary or wicking
mechanism. High degree of swelling, rapid swelling and mechanical strength are met, by
surface- crosslinked hydrogel particles. They swell fast to equilibrium size in minutes due to
water uptake by capillary wetting through numerous interconnected open pores. SPH
preparation involves two steps viz. polymerization and foaming. Certain ingredients including
initiators, crosslinkers, foam stabilizers, foaming aids and foaming agents are used. Mechanical
strength of the highly swollen SPH is increased by adding a composite material i.e. super
porous hydrogels composite (SPHC) e.g. carbopol 934P, Ac-Di-Sol, which is a hollow
microparticle of a hydrophilic polymer. The presence of hollow microparticles results in
physical entanglements of polymer chains around the microparticles. This essentially increases
the effective crosslinking density without making the superporous hydrogels too brittle. Drug
delivery systems based on SPH and/or SPHC for human insulin, N--benzoyl-L-arginine
ethylester , octreotide , buserelin and desmopressin have been reported. An instant swelling
hydrogel has also shown potential application for peroral intestinal peptide and protein
absorption. They can also be used in diet control area,for the people who desire to reduce the
volume of food they take. Bioadhesive, as well as floating SPHC drug-delivery system is also
promising for stomach specific delivery.

National Conference on Drug Innovation: Emerging Trends and Challenges. 10-11 February-2012 ;
Organized by Rayat-Bahra Institute of Pharmacy Village Bohan, Hoshiarpur. Sponsored By: Punjab Technical
University, Kapurthala

International Journal of Natural Product Science 2012; Spl Issue 1: 81

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