Na-Montmorillonite-Dispersed Sustainable Polymer Nanocomposite Hydrogel Films for Anticancer Drug Delivery

Nanocomposite hydrogels have found a wide scope in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and smart drug delivery applications. The present study reports the formulations of biocompatible nanocomposite hydrogel films using carboxymethyl cellulose-hydroxyethyl cellulose-acrylonitrile-linseed oil polyol (CHAP) plain hydrogel and Na-montmorillonite (NaMMT) dispersed CHAP nanocomposite hydrogel films (NaCHAP) using solution blending technique. The structural, morphological, and mechanical properties of resultant nanocomposite hydrogel films were further investigated to analyze the effects of polyol and NaMMT on the characteristic properties. The synergistic effect of polyol and nanofillers on the mechanical strength and sustained drug-release behavior of the resultant hydrogel films was studied, which revealed that the increased cross-link density of hydrogels enhanced the elastic modulus (up to 99%) and improved the drug retention time (up to 72 h at both pHs 7.4 and 4.0). The release rate of cisplatin i...