Design of nanostructure chitosan hydrogels for carrying zinc phthalocyanine as a photosensitizer and difloxacin as an antibacterial agent.

Here, we develop homogeneous hydrogel networks containing zinc tetraamino-phthalocyanine (ZnTAPc) as photosensitizer cross-linked with glutaraldehyde. The cross-linking process occurs via imine bond formation by reaction of NH2 groups of ZnTAPc and chitosan with aldehyde groups of the glutaraldehyde. Insertion of ZnTAPc interestingly increases its solubility in water medium. 2.0% and 4% w/w of the ZnTAPc were used with respect to chitosan polymer to generate hydrogel photosensitizer. FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and rheological measurements were applied to evaluate the properties of the prepared hydrogels. Finally, difloxacin HCl was selected as a fluoroquinolone drug for the assessment of the drug release features of the made hydrogels. The difloxacin release was affected by the amount of ZnTAPc and pH medium. The activity of the hydrogels in photosensitizing process was considered by computing the rate of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran adsorption reduction as a singlet oxygen chemical quencher.