New Nicotinic Acid-based Hydrogel: Swelling and Insulin Uptake Studies

Abstract

Designing a target-specific insulin delivery via the oral route or the non-invasive mode using the polymer-based drug delivery systems is a research area attracting the researchers' attention worldwide. In the present short communication, we report a new nano-system with a bioactive component, nicotinic acid (NA). It was conjugated via the lipase-catalyzed reaction with polyethylene glycol (PEG400). NA and PEG were taken in a 1:1 molar ratio along with 1% of lipase and reacted at 45 °C. The PEGylated-NA was characterized for its structural aspects using different techniques. Swelling studies were carried out at pH 6.0, 7.0, and 9.0. The order of water uptake was 6.0 > 7.0 > 9.0. The PEGylated-NA was evaluated as a platform to load insulin at pH 7.4 and the physiological temperature of 37 ºC. It showed a high affinity for insulin with uptake of 82.68% with an adsorption capacity of 206.7 mg/g.