Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment
may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating
and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such
information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including
parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume
any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability,
negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas
contained in the material herein.
vii
viii Contents
CHAPTER 9 Grafting Onto Biopolymers: Application in Targeted Drug Delivery ... 335
Saundray R. Soni, Animesh Ghosh
1. Introduction............................................................................................335
2. Biopolymers...........................................................................................341
2.1 Classification of Biopolymers........................................................ 341
3. Biopolymers Grafting ............................................................................352
3.1 Grafting Strategy............................................................................ 352
3.2 Grafting Techniques ...................................................................... 353
4. Applications as Stimuli Responsive Targeted Drug Delivery
System....................................................................................................359
4.1 Temperature Responsive Polymers: Applications in Targeted
Drug Delivery System ................................................................... 360
4.2 pH Responsive Polymers: Applications in Targeted Drug
Delivery System............................................................................. 363
5. Applications as Receptor Targeted Drug Delivery System...................367
5.1 Targeting via Folate Receptors...................................................... 367
5.2 Targeting via RGD Peptide Toward Integrin Receptors ............... 371
6. Application of Grafted Biopolymers in Controlled Drug
Delivery System.....................................................................................372
7. Concluding Remarks .............................................................................375
Acknowledgments....................................................................................... 375
References ...................................................................................................379
CHAPTER 10 Fibroin Grafting Onto Wool Fibers: Recent Advances and
Applications ............................................................................................. 391
Franco Ferrero, Anna Garetto, Raffaella Mossotti, Claudio Tonin
1. Introduction.......................................................................................... 391
2. Grafting of Epoxy Resins Onto Wool................................................. 393
3. Grafting of Epoxy Resins Onto Silk ................................................... 397
4. Materials .............................................................................................. 400
4.1 Wool .............................................................................................400
4.2 Fibroin...........................................................................................400
4.3 Epoxy Resins ................................................................................402
5. Experimental Methods......................................................................... 403
5.1 Laboratory Equipment ..................................................................403
5.2 Morphology Analyses...................................................................403
5.3 Spectrophotometric and Thermal Analyses..................................404
5.4 Determination of Amino Groups by the Ninhydrin Assay ..........404
5.5 Epoxy Equivalent Determination .................................................405
xiv Contents
xv
xvi List of Contributors
Faculty in Manufacturing
In his academic career, he has published more than 100 SCI journal research
articles in the field of chemical sciences/materials science and holds one US
patent. He has also published 33 books and 35 book chapters on the advanced
state-of-the-art of polymer science/materials science/nanotechnology with
numerous publishers. His research interests include the synthesis and
processing of biobased polymers and composites, nanostructured materials,
hydrogels, polymer micro/nanocomposites, nanoelectronic materials, novel
high dielectric constant materials, engineering nanomaterials, electrochromic
materials, green synthesis of nanomaterials, and surface functionalization
of polymers/nanomaterials. Application aspects range from automotive to
aerospace, energy storage, water purification, and biomedical fields.
xvii
xviii About the Editor
for Cogent Chemistry (SCI); Associate Editor for Current Smart Materials;
Associate Editor for Current Applied Polymer Science; Regional Editor
for Recent Patents on Materials Science (Scopus); and Regional Editor for
Current Biochemical Engineering (CAS). He also serves on the Editorial
Advisory Board of Polymers for Advanced Technologies (SCI) and is on
the Editorial Board of Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part A: Pure
and Applied Chemistry (SCI), International Journal of Industrial
Chemistry (SCI), Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry (SCI), and
Advances in Natural Sciences: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (SCI).
Preface
There is growing interest in biopolymer-based materials all over the universe, especially if the
materials are based on renewable raw materials. The use of renewable resources is becoming
more and more important in present civilizations. It is intensively connected to natural
bioresources, agricultural production, and new developments in biobased materials. In fact,
sustainable development has become a key idea. Sustainable development over the next
century requires the use of natural polymer-based materials from renewable resources as
alternatives to the Earth’s limited petroleum resources. The 21st century offers enormous
challenges but also exciting opportunities at economic and environmental levels.
Among various materials, natural biopolymers are the most abundant polymer found in nature;
they are found in plants and trees, along with other biomass. Though this research in general has
become prevalent, studies pertinent to biobased materials are limited compared to synthetic
polymers. The prime reason for this is the inherent disadvantages of these materials such as
hydrophilic nature and poor resistance to chemicals/weathering conditions. Improvements in
the surface modification of biopolymers through graft copolymerization are enormously
important because they will widen the scope of their applications. The development of new
graft copolymer materials from biopolymers with excellent mechanical and barrier properties
has been an important research challenge for industries for promising applications of their
products. Hence advances in graft copolymerization of biopolymers with excellent
mechanical and barrier properties have been an important research challenge. Biopolymer
Grafting: Applications is organized in such a manner to provide the most relevant and
realistic information on natural polymer-based graft copolymers for different applications
including automotive, toxic ion removals, biomedical, defense, etc. The book bridges the
knowledge gap between the scientific principles and industrial applications of polymer grafting.
This volume of the book series Advances in Polymer and Fibers is solely focused on the
“applications” of biopolymer-based graft copolymers. Some of the important topics include,
but are not limited to: graft copolymerization: a revolutionary approach; grafting of
hydroxyapatite for biomedical applications; grafting of hydrophilic monomers onto cellulosic
polymers for medical applications; surface functionalization with biopolymers via plasma-
assisted surface grafting and plasma-induced graft polymerization; synthesis and application
as programmable water-soluble adhesive of polyacrylamide grafted gum; radiation grafting of
biopolymers and synthetic polymers: synthesis and biomedical applications; processing and
characterization of grafted biocomposites; derivatized chitosan: fundamentals to applications;
grafted copolymerized chitosan and its applications as a green biopolymer; grafting onto
biopolymers: application in targeted drug delivery; chitosan grafted copolymers for drug
delivery applications; fibroin grafting onto wool fibers: recent advances and applications; and
grafting modification of wood for high performance.
xix
xx Preface
Several critical issues and suggestions for future work are comprehensively discussed in this
volume with the hope that the book will provide a deep insight into the state-of-the-art of
“Biopolymer Grafting: Applications” of the biopolymer-based graft copolymers. I would like
to thank Elsevier and Jennifer Pierce for the invaluable help in the organization of the editing
process. Finally, I would like to thank my parents and spouse for their continuous
encouragement and support.
1. INTRODUCTION
Natural polysaccharides are polymeric carbohydrates that are abundant in
nature including animals, plants, and marine sources. They contain repeti-
tive units that are joined together by glycoside linkages with various
branches (Gao and Yan, 2004; Lapasin and Pricl, 1995). Polysaccharides
have been proven to be widely used in the food (Sahoo et al., 2013), phar-
macy (Pillai et al., 2009), and industry (Meshram et al., 2009; Yu et al.,
2011) sectors, as well as many more diversified fields. They are preferred
over synthetic polymers due to their availability, nontoxicity, and low
cost, though they possess certain disadvantages of being thermosensitive,
prone to microbial contamination, lowering of viscosity during storage,
and sensitive to highly stressful conditions (Gupta et al., 2004). To overcome
these drawbacks, various modification approaches have come to attention,
e.g., etherification (Edgar et al., 2001), cross-linking (Bastos et al., 2009),
derivatization of functional groups (Battaerd and Treglar, 1967; Fares
et al., 2003; Haag et al., 2004; Jenkins and Hudson, 2001; Kaith and Kalia,
2008a,b; Moreira et al., 1997; Reis et al., 2007; Shi et al., 2007), and graft
copolymerization using chemical, radiation, photochemical, plasma-
induced, and enzymatic methods (Bastos et al., 2009; Kalia et al., 2011;
Rana et al., 2015; Roy et al., 2009). Graft copolymerization is found to be
the most assuring overture among the aforementioned approaches, as deriv-
atization of gum has only limited attributes (Fares et al., 2003); especially,
the increase in molecular weight cannot be achieved due to lesser attach-
ments of the functional groups. Also the introduction of new functional
groups changes the charge on the molecule, molecular chain’s aggregation
state, hydrophilicehydrophobic capability (Cunha and Gandini, 2010),
capacity to form complexes (Moreira et al., 1997), ability to respond to
the stimulus, and rheological behavior of gums (Lapasin and Pricl, 1995),
due to which application domain of the gums was found to be increased but
up to an extent.
Graft copolymerization has multifaceted potential, which has been exploited
by the scientists to introduce targeted properties in the copolymer devel-
oped. Apart from the alteration in melting point, permeability, elasticity,
solubility, chemical reactivity, and glass transition temperature due to graft
copolymerization, there has been no change in the biodegradable nature of
the polymer, making this tool much more advantageous (Fares et al., 2003;
Haag et al., 2004; Shi et al., 2007). Depending upon the monomer grafted on
the polysaccharide, the properties of the upcoming product (Kalia and Sabaa,
2013) are selected.
Grafting has been recognized as the authentic method, which can make
changes in the structure of the polymer by reacting with the synthetic mono-
mer and hence lead to the formation of a new biomaterial that is much more
sophisticated when compared with its native polysaccharide, which suffers
from the severe enzymatic attack and also from uncontrolled swelling and
erosion (Jenkins and Hudson, 2001).
A graft copolymer is nothing but a combination of a polymer (trunk
polymer) and a synthetic monomer reacted together to make a macromole-
cule where a main chain, also called the backbone of the polymer, has the
monomer attached continuously as the side chain, leading to the formation
of the copolymer. The functional groups of both the constituents attach
themselves by covalent bonding. Although graft copolymerization is very
advantageous and an effective method of altering the properties of the
polymer, it also suffers from one drawback, i.e., formation of concurrent
homopolymer, which is the major constraint in grafting, resulting in lower
yield (Battaerd and Treglar, 1967).
Various methods of grafting are available and are further described in detail;
among them, redox initiator-induced grafting is the one of the conventional
methods, which has been replaced by microwave-irradiated grafting due to
numerous disadvantages like lengthy continuance of reaction, unwanted
homopolymer formation, degradation of the polymer, use of catalyst, and
also due to the advantages of microwave-irradiated grafting (Rana et al.,
2015).
Microwave irradiation significantly reduces the reaction time for almost all
the grafting reactions as well as the use of the toxic solvents, leading to high
yields, clean product formations, and product selectivity. The applications
of grafting have been exploited by miscellaneous systems as per change
in the properties of the graft copolymer for corresponding active ingredient,
1. Introduction 3
shown in Fig. 1.1. The concept of molecular brushes has wider applications
and can be synthesized by the different approaches of graft copolymeriza-
tion, as discussed in detail in the next section (Sheiko et al., 2008; Zhang
and Müller, 2005).
1.3.1 Grafting On
The grafting on approach involves the coupling reaction between the poly-
mer chain containing randomly distributed active functional groups X on
the backbone (Fig. 1.2) with the functional groups (Y) at the chain ends
of the other reactive polymer. The coupling or the covalent reaction
Benzoyl peroxide Cellulose acetate Acrylic acid and acrylamide Abdelwahab et al. (2015)
Azobisizobutyronitrile Sodium alginate N,N dimethyl acrylamide Akin and Isiklan (2016)
Potassium per sulfate Acryloyl chloride Amino acid-based Alfaifi et al. (2014)
monomer
Potassium bromate/ Palm tree cellulose Acrylic acid Al-Hoqbani et al. (2014)
Thiourea dioxide
Potassium Poly(vinyl alcohol) Styrene Bai et al. (2009)
diperiodatocuprate (III)
Cerium(IV) ammonium Starch Acrylamide Bulut (2015)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Chitosan Polyacrylamide Bulut (2016)
nitrate
Stannous octoate Starch Poly-1-lactic acid Egri et al. (2016)
Cerium(IV) ammonium Chitosan Acrylic Acid Huacai et al. (2006)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Starch Acrylonitrile Ikhuoria et al. (2010)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Locust bean Acrylamide Kaity and Ghosh (2016)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Locust bean Acrylamide Kaity et al. (2013)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Hydroxyl ethyl starch N,N-dimethyl acrylamide Kolya and Tripathy (2013)
nitrate and Acryl amide
Ammonium nitrate (CAN) Amylopectin Acrylamide and N,N- Kolya and Tripathy (2014)
dimethylacrylamide
Cerium(IV) ammonium Xanthan gum Acrylamide Kumar et al. (2009)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Cellulose Glycidyl methacrylate Kumar et al. (2013)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Starch Methyl methacrylate Kumar et al. (2015)
nitrate
Horseradish peroxidase/ Starch Dimethyldiallylammonium Lv et al. (2014)
H2O2 chloride
Cerium(IV) ammonium Soya peptone Acrylamide Mahto et al. (2014)
nitrate
Ammonium persulfate Gum kondogogu Acrylamide Malik and Ahuja (2011)
Ammonium persulfate Carboxymethyl tamarind Acrylonitrile Meenkashi et al. (2014)
kernel
Benzoyl peroxide 5-fluorouracil Methacrylic acid Minhas et al. (2013)
Cerium(IV) ammonium Agar Acrylamide Mishra et al. (2011a,b)
nitrate
1. Introduction 9
Table 1.1 List of Different Types of Initiators Used for Grafting continued
Initiator Polymer Monomer References
Continued
10 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach
Table 1.1 List of Different Types of Initiators Used for Grafting continued
Initiator Polymer Monomer References
O-quinone, which can undergo reaction with the amino group of chitosan to
form graft copolymer (Kumar et al., 1999).
Chitosan gets converted to its modified form in the presence of chlorogenic
acid (a natural product) as well as acidic medium. Enzymatic modification
can yield chitosan derivatives with unique pH-sensitive water solubility and
adhesive properties. The feasibility of using tyrosinase as a catalyst for
grafting hexyl oxy phenol and also Bombyx mori silk fibroin onto the chito-
san was investigated (Chen et al., 2000).
In order to confer the functional properties of chitosan, horseradish perox-
idase was also used as a catalyst in the grafting reaction. Using this
enzyme, grafting of the phenolic substrate dodecyl gallate onto the chito-
san was possible (Vachoud et al., 2001). Quinones are another category
that is being used to modify the chitosan, e.g., menadione, which is a
derivative of napthaquinone, contains similar physiological properties as
that of vitamin K, which is responsible for the reaction with chitosan and
introducing the increased surface hydrophobicity and the spectral features
of the modified chitosan (Muzzarelli and Muzzarelli, 2002). Another
example of modification of polysaccharide is by using the enzyme immo-
bilization technique. J. Darta and T. Jesionowski in 2014 developed an
adsorption immobilization technique to graft amino lipase onto a silica sur-
face using glutaraldehyde as an intermediate. The outcome of the research
was that the properties of the substrate were modified and now the product
can be utilized in a better way. Also, the amount of the enzyme that was
received after the reaction was much more than the amount introduced
initially (Jesionowski et al., 2014).
1. Introduction 11
Two treatment types of plasma with polymers had been attempted by the
researchers in order to get the monofunctional surfaces on the polymer:
n plasma treatment via oxygen
n plasma treatment via charged particle bombardment leading to frag-
mentation of the polymer
However, plasma treated with these two approaches resulted with the lower
stability products having several functional groups, which are not desired
effects; hence these approaches were not carried further. Perhaps among
the successful techniques, one is decreasing the applied energy to the
maximum extent using low powered plasma and also reducing the density
of the particles damaged while under treatment by the plasma. One example
of plasma-initiated grafting is polypropylene, due to its simpler chemical
structure. Also, hydroxyl, carboxyl, and epoxy groups were selected as
the functional groups that are introduced by direct plasma treatment or by
grafting methods. Plasma grafting can be evaluated by electron spectros-
copy for chemical analysis and infrared spectroscopy methods, which
revealed that plasma-initiated grafting leads to homogeneous distribution
of participating functionalities and also a better retention of the precursor
structure (Kale and Desai, 2011).
reaction proceeds and are the key component in the grafting, which
propagates the reaction according to its reactivity with the monomers
(Huang et al., 2007a,b). Living cationic polymerization is a type of living
polymerization technique that involves cationic propagating species. A
chemical equilibrium exists between the ionic species, which are propa-
gating actively, and the covalent species, which are dormant. Use of solvents
requires purification of the monomer as well as of the solvent. Cationic
polymerization has many applications, e.g., the production of polyisobuty-
lene, which is a constituent of inner tubes and poly(N-vinylcarbazole).
Polymeric grafted silica nanoparticles had been synthesized and initiated
by the cationic ring opening method of grafting, utilizing 2-methyl-1,2-
oxazoline and involving a solvent-free dry system. To prevent the environ-
ment pollution and also to simplify the process, the whole grafting process
had been scaled up and investigated about the outcomes (Ueda et al.,
2008). Cationic graft copolymerization of a cationic starch (sludge dewater-
ing agent) and dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (DMDAAC) using
horseradish peroxidase/H2O2 as an initiator was performed. Stronger hydro-
phobic regions and cationic groups producing a porous structure within the
sludge were observed after grafting, which are good characteristics of a
dewatering agent. Hence it may have significant potential in the develop-
ment of high-performance sludge dewatering agents (Oberstar and
Westman, 1977; Singh et al., 2006a,b,c).
intermediate, which further gets dissociated into free radicals. Various types of
photoinitiators available are uranyl nitrate, hydrogen peroxide, benzoin ethyl
ether, and some ketone Benzoin derivatives, Benzil ketals, Acetophenone de-
rivatives, Hydroxyl alkylphenones, and Acylcro ximino ketones (Khan, 2004;
Kubota and Shigehisa, 1995; Shukla and Athalye, 1994). Copolymers of cel-
lulose had also been grafted on methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, and their deriv-
atives (Irwan et al., 2004; Kubota et al., 2001) using photochemical irradiation.
Gamma Radiations: High energy gamma radiations are very effective to
generate a free radical site on the backbone of the polymer especially for
flouropolymers as they are more stable. Gamma radiations are mainly
used commercially for graft copolymerization. The major disadvantage of
the gamma radiations is it causes unpredictable changes to the backbone
of the polymer. Gamma radiations had been used by Teena sehgal and sunita
rattan in graft copolymerization of the Isotactic polypropylene films on N-
vinyl-2-pyrrolidine using cobalt 60 as the source of gamma radiations.
The grafted films were characterized using fourier transform infrared spec-
troscopy (FTIR), atomic-force microscopy and SEM studies. The optimized
batch was evaluated for swelling studies and pH sensitivity and concluded
that the graft copolymer had better swelling behavior and pH sensitivity
and can be used in the controlled drug delivery system (Sehgal and Rattan,
2010). An attempt was made by Singh et al. to prepare gamma radiation-
induced graft copolymerization of poly vinyl pyrrolidine on sterculia gum
and also further formulation of biocompatible, mucoadhesive hydrogels us-
ing this graft copolymer. Effect of gamma radiation on swelling behavior
and other parameters related to the swelling behavior, e.g., polymer fraction
in the swollen state (f), molecular weight of the polymer chain between two
neighboring cross-links (Mc), cross-link density (r), and mesh size (x),
were studied. Characterization of the hydrogels was done using FTIR,
SEM, X ray diffraction, TGA, and swelling studies. It was found that with
the increase in the dose of the radiation the cross-link density and gel
strength was found to increase, whereas swelling and mesh size were found
to decrease with increasing dose of gamma radiations. It was conferred that
the optimized batch of the hydrogels had mucoadhesive nature and have the
potential to deliver the drug in a controlled manner in the gastrointestinal
tract (GIT) due to its mucoadhesive nature (Singh et al., 2014a,b,c). A binary
mixture of methacrylic acid and 4-vinyl pyridine was grafted on a poly vinyl
fluoride film using preradiation technique with gamma radiations. Maximum
percentage grafting of 77.50% was obtained by irradiating the film by swift
heavy ions, silicon, and carbon. Characterization of the copolymer was done
with FTIR, TGA, swelling ratio, and ion and metal uptake studies (Kaur
et al., 2013). Graft copolymerization of the rayon fiber was done on the
16 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach
for generation of free radicals with or without use of initiator. It has resulted
in greater control over the grafting efficiency as microwave radiations can
easily be controlled by controlling exposure time and strength of the radia-
tion by controlling power. Microwave radiations can quickly transfer the
energy into the major proportion of the reacting mixture or the suspension,
which lead to rapid exposure of the reactants in the reaction vessel. With
polysaccharides, mainly three types of microwave-grafting reactions have
been attempted by scientists: (1) homogeneous solutions with aqueous
media in which all the reactants are completely soluble and no observed
phase separation occurs. Aqueous phase is used as a solvent usually, as
most of the polysaccharides have been found to be soluble in water. It is
the polar nature of the water that absorbs microwaves and convert them to
heat energy significantly. (2) The second type of of microwave-grafting
reaction is heterogeneous suspension, in which all components of the reac-
tion mixture are not fully miscible rather suspended in the mixture. (3) In the
third type of microwave grafting, mixture reactants are in the solid phase.
Polymers, monomers, and initiators are combined together on a solid support
that is nonreactive with all the components of the reaction mixture (Rani
et al., 2012a,b).
The major and most important advantages of microwave-irradiated graft
copolymerization are reduction in time of reaction, least consumption of
the toxic chemicals during grafting, commendable grafting efficiency,
and the formation of selective and clean products. The reasons due to
which these advantages are observed could be that electromagnetic
radiations of 300 MHz to 300 GHz frequency are generated during
microwave irradiation, which is directly and immediately exposed to
bulk mixture. The exposure of these electromagnetic reactions selectively
excites the polar bonds present in the reactants, leading to the breakage or
cleavage of them, which in turn produces the free radicals on the
backbone of the polymer. However, the bonds in the CeC sequence
remain unaltered due to their nonpolar nature, which confirms the product
selective nature of the microwave radiations (Chapiro, 1962; Deshayes
et al., 1999; Singh et al., 2006a,b,c, 2012). Formulation methodology
of the grafting of polymers using microwave has been illustrated in
Fig. 1.6.
Microwave-irradiated grafting is mainly of three types:
n Microwave-initiated grafting: in this type of microwave, radiations are
responsible for initiation of the reaction, and no initiator is required for
formation of free radicals. It is not even an ecofriendly approach of
grafting; rather, it results in too much control and higher
18 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach
n FIGURE 1.7 General scheme of graft copolymerization using free radical mechanism.
20 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach
Mishra et al., 2012; Pal et al., 2008; Wan et al., 2011), has already been
reported in literature.
1.4 Applications
1.4.1 Drug Delivery System
The design of drug delivery systems has intensively exploited the use of
polysaccharides. The use of polysaccharides in the field of drug delivery
has certain limitations in spite of being biodegradable, biocompatible,
nontoxic behavior with low cost, ready availability, and high regulatory
acceptance attribute and easily metabolized by the microflora present in
the colon into their respective monomers. Polysaccharides have extensive
applications in various fields as binding, disintegrating, thickening, floccu-
lating, and stabilizing agents in oral dosage form and also in transdermal
form. Apart from these advantages and applications, polysaccharides have
certain limitations also as described in Section 1, which has created a way
of modification of the polysaccharides by using various methods, e.g.,
carboxymethylation, side chain grafting, cyanoethylation, chemical cross-
linking, and graft copolymerization using various sources with and without
initiators and many other processes. Graft copolymers are more advanta-
geous compared to the raw polysaccharide as they can be easily tailored
to the requirements for particular applications, e.g., controlled drug delivery
systems. In this section, we have focused on the applications of modified
polysaccharides or graft copolymers using the graft copolymerization
approach with the help of microwave irradiation.
using lamivudine as the model drug. Acute toxicity and drug compatibility
studies of the copolymer were investigated. Kinetic studies of the formula-
tion of both the copolymers exhibited highest correlation (R) value and
selected Higuchi model for the release mechanism study suggested that
the formulation exhibited a combination of diffusion and erosion-based
release process. Significant differences in the various pharmacokinetic
parameters (Tmax, Cmax, AUC, Vd, t1/2 and MDT) of the optimized formu-
lation were found compared to the marketed conventional tablet Lamivir,
and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies of sago starch-g-polyacrylamide were
also performed on rabbits and conferred the IVIVC correlation as a
controlled release tablets of graft copolymers (Singh and Nath, 2012,
2013). Similarly, sustained release tablets of polyacrylamide grafted Aegle
marmelos gum and xanthan gum were also attempted recently by Setia
et al. and Kumar et al. Sustained release tablets of model water-insoluble
drug diclofenac sodium were formulated using the grafted xanthan gum
and aegle marmelos gum (AMG) as a rate-controlling polymer. Xanthan
gum was able to sustain the drug release over a period of 12 h, the release
kinetics followed the Higuchi model, and the mechanism was governed
by Fickian diffusion, whereas AMG matrix tablets were successful in con-
trolling the release of the drug up to 24 h, exhibiting zero order kinetics
with n value greater than 1, suggesting that the mechanism for drug release
as super case II transport, i.e., rate of release of the drug completely domi-
nated by swelling and erosion of the copolymer. Microwave-assisted graft
copolymerization using ceric ammonium nitrate and ammonium per sulfate
as initiators was successful and the method was concluded to be an easy and
efficient time saver that was easy to reproduce. The single pot synthesis
method to develop the graft copolymers can be further exploited and used
for formulation of the sustained-release drug delivery system (Kumar
et al., 2009; Setia and Kumar, 2014).
Controlled release tablets of graft copolymer of psyllium and methacrylic
acid, which were synthesized using the microwave-assisted method with sil-
ver sulfate as an initiator, were also prepared by R. Kumar and K. Sharma
(2013). The swelling studies, in vitro controlled drug release in different pH
solutions, and the biodegradability studies were performed. It was found that
swelling of Psy-g-PMA was higher than that of the corresponding psyllium,
and drug release in the acidic pH (pH ¼ 4) was 85.67% in the first 3 h,
whereas it was only 82.04% up to 11 h in basic medium. It was also
concluded that the tablets can be used to control the release in GIT based
on pH environments. Also, the graft copolymer due to high superabsorbent
capacity can be used in diapers and feminine sanitary pads. On the same lieu,
Sen and Pal in 2009 and Sen et al. in 2010 investigated the controlled release
22 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach