Polyvinyl alcohol-sodium alginate blend, composited with 3D-graphene oxide as a controlled release system for curcumin

A curcumin drug carrier was prepared by a polymer blend of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA). Few layer graphene oxide (FL-GO) was synthesized and the PVA-SA blend was composited with 0, 1, 5, and 10 wt% of FL-GO. The effect of GO percentage on the swelling ratio and drug release was investigated. In addition, the kinetics of the drug release was studied to estimate the drug release mechanism for each case. SEM micrographs showed a 3D structure for GO (3D-GO) in the polymer composite after cross-linking. Curcumin was loaded in PVA-SA/3D-GO hydrogels for studying in vitro drug delivery systems. The 3D-GO effect on the hydrogels water uptake was also investigated. The 3D-GO generally could increase the swelling ratio up to 5 times and decrease drug release to 59%. Increasing in GO content caused a decreasing in swelling capacity and an increasing in drug release rate. Kinetic studies revealed that the Korsmeyer-Peppas model has a good fitting for PVA-SA/3D-GO 10 wt% and PVA-SA hydrogels as well as the zero order model for PVA-SA/3D-GO 1 wt% and 5 wt%.