In vitro release and characterization of chitosan films as dexamethasone carrier.

Chitosan, a biodegradable and biocompatible polysaccharide, is a potentially useful material in various fields. We produced mono and bilayer chitosan films containing dexamethasone as a drug carrier for controlled release. The chitosan drug-loaded films were produced by a casting/solvent evaporation technique using 2 wt% acetic acid solution and distilled water and they were dried at room temperature. These films were characterized by release and swelling studies, DSC and ATR-FTIR. The total profile for water absorption was similar for the types of films developed. ATR-FTIR analysis showed little change in the band position of the O--H and N--H stretching from dexamethasone and chitosan, respectively. DSC analysis from bilayer film indicates that the dexamethasone peak was shifted from 256 to 240 degrees C. These results suggested an interaction between hydroxyl and amino groups of chitosan and hydroxyl groups of dexamethasone. In the drug release studies it was observed 89.6% release from the monolayer film in 8h and 84% from the bilayer film in 4 weeks. These results suggested that the chitosan sheet prepared in this study is a promising delivery carrier for dexamethasone.