Gelatin Hydrogel/Magnetic Cobalt Nanoparticles Containing Pantoprazole for Adequate Drug Release

Gastric wound is the most common type of gastric ulcer with lots of complication when the protective mucosa inside the stomach becomes ineffective. The stomach produces strong acids to support digest food. As the mucosa loses its normal function, stomach acid may damage the stomach tissue and lead to stomach ulcers. Therefore, the need to develop new therapies with controlled function is well required in which one of the new solutions is to use magnetic hydrogels. In this regard, cobalt nanoparticles (Co-NP) were synthesized using molds made by anodizing technique and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were loaded on gelatin hydrogel containing penaprazole. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to examine the morphology, functional group, and microstructure analysis of the samples. The EDS results indicate that the amount of Fe for both samples is in the range of 3-5 wt%. Also, investigation of magnetic properties of particles was performed using vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) test. The magnetization of sample A was 11.83 emu/g, which did not increase or decrease significantly compared to the value of sample B, 11.61 emu/g. Drug release occurred in about 70% within 48 hours and the effect of increasing gelatin on hydrogel on the rate of swelling was investigated. The obtained results indicated that with increasing the amount of gelatin, swelling significantly increased.