Electrically controlled release of anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil from carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogels.

Transdermal drug delivery is a technique used to introduce a drug through the skin and into the blood system. The drug-matrix hydrogels based on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were prepared by solution casting method using citric acid as the crosslinking agent at various amounts. The 5-fluorouracil, an anticancer non-ionic drug, was released from the CMC hydrogels under applied electrical field. The diffusion coefficient and the release mechanism of the drug of the CMC hydrogels were investigated by the modified Franz-diffusion cell with the PBS buffer solution at the pH value of 7.4 and at 37 °C for the duration of 24 h. The effects of mesh size, electric potential, and electrode polarity were systematically investigated. The swelling test illustrated an increase in the mesh size with decreasing crosslinking agent. In addition, the drug diffusion coefficient increased with decreasing crosslinker: repeated group mole ratio. The diffusion coefficient depended critically on the applied electric potential and the electrode polarity. The non-ionic drug release mechanisms were identified as the matrix deswelling and electroosmosis, in addition to the pure diffusion without electric field. Thus, CMC has been shown a potential bio-based matrix for electrically controlled non-ionic drug delivery.