Nkafamiya II, Barminas JT, Aliyu BA and Osemeahon SA.
To utilize konkoli (maesopsis eminii) seeds (KS), a medicinal natural polysaccharide, for development of a novel hydrogels for use in drug delivery, we prepared hydrogels by varying the concentrations of both the KS and borax (BX) using different ratios. This paper discusses the swelling responses of the hydrogels in different mediums [distilled water (DW), pH2.2 and pH7.4]. Percentage swelling (PS) has been observed to be increasing with increase in the concentration of KS and keeping the concentration of BX constant. On varying the concentration of BX and keeping the one of KS constant, it was observed that PS increases with decrease in concentration of BX. By changing the swelling medium from DW to pH2.2 and pH7.4, the PS increases abruptly, this indicates the smart behaviour of the hydrogels. For all the mediums, maximum PS was observed in pH7.4. These observations indicate that these hydrogels are pH sensitive and have potentials for use in colon specific drug delivery
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