Electrochemical study of magnetic nanogel designed for controlled release of chlorhexidine gluconate

Abstract Intensive care is required for patient with higher degree of burns as they are prone to sepsis mortality. Topical antimicrobials/antiseptics are the conventional treatment of choice with each having its limitation in terms of toxicity and effectiveness. Magnetic nanogel have long been studied for in vivo drug delivery in cancer treatment. Inspired by fact that incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles will enhance the antimicrobial properties of nanogel, we developed a chitosan-gelatin based polymer with dispersed magnetic Cobalt iron oxide nanoparticles for controlled release of chlorhexidine gluconate. MNPs were synthesized by co-precipitation method and confirmation of CoFe 2 O 4 phase was done with XRD analysis. Nanogel was fabricated by solution casting method and further characterization to determine drug interaction with polymer and MNPs was performed using Fourier Transformed Infra-Red Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Electroanalytical methods including Cyclic Voltammetry, Square Wave Voltammetry and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. Results of the study indicate that electrochemical nature of nanogel is pH dependent and the drug release can be induced at pH ranging from 6 to 7. Findings of this study highlight potential of the synthesized nanogel in developing burn care treatment that enables on demand drug release in response to sepsis with changing pH and can be integrated with detection system due to the presence of MNPs in it.