Novel Interpenetrating Polymer Network Based on Chitosan for the Controlled Release of Cis-Platin

In the present work, a novel interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogel composed of crosslinked chitosan and poly(acryl acid) was prepared by crosslinking using glutaraldehyde. The model drug, cis-platin, was loaded into the resulted IPN hydrogel. Water absorption of the hydrogel could be switched on and off swiftly by control of pH of the surrounding environment. Therefore, the synthesized hydrogels in this work can be used as a drug delivery system, and that the drug release can be controlled by the pH of solution. The release rate of cis-platin from hydrogel at pH 7.4 was higher than that at pH 1.2 due to the increased swelling capacity of the hydrogel.