Polyacrylamide/poly(2-(dimethylamino) Ethyl Methacrylate) Interpenetrating Polymer Networks as Drug Delivery Systems for Diclofenac Sodium

Nowadays, modern pharmaceutical investigations are directed toward the design and production of drug delivery systems for achieving prolonged and controlled drug delivery. In this respect, the use of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) is an opportunity in the preparation of polymer drug delivery systems with desired characteristics. This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of novel poly(2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) and polyacrylamide (PAAm)-based IPNs with different compositions and their application as diclofenac sodium delivery systems. The prepared IPNs were shown to possess phase-separated structures at the nano level, as revealed by SEM and TM-DSC. The IPNs’ composition was shown to determine the swelling behavior of these novel materials, and the inclusion of the charged IPN component (PDMAEMA) has changed the water molecules type diffusion from Fickian to non-Fickian, as revealed by the swelling kinetics study. Loading efficiency of diclofenac sodium and diclofenac sodium content in the polymer network was evaluated, and in vitro drug release experiments were carried out in order to estimate the ability of the obtained IPNs to control the release of the water-soluble drug.