Introduction: Among various carrier materials capable of drug controlled-release, silica xerogels have been found to be noteworthy for loading and sustaining drug release. These silica xerogels were synthesized through sol-gel technology using Tetraethylortosilicate (TEOS) as a silica precursor.
Methods: This study was an experimental basic research, which aimed to characterize the effect of adding chitosan to silica xerogels on Morphology, surface area and topography as well as mechanical behavior of the hybrid films. Furthermore, the lidocaine hydrochloride was incorporated on to the hybrid chitosan-silica xerogels and drug release behavior of the hybrid xerogels was evaluated and compared with pure silica xerogels. In addition, the covalent bond between chitosan chains and silica network was verified by FTIR; MTT assay was performed to evaluate cytotoxicity of the final system.
Results: The release profile of hybrid xerogels showed biphasic mode of release and approximately 71 % accumulative release rate. Chitosan slightly decreased burst effect and release rate, but extended release period in comparison with silica xerogel. Moreover, blending of chitosan and TEOS enhanced tensile elongation and reduced the average pore size of TEOS-based xerogels.
Conclusion: In conclusion, this in vitro study showed that the sol–gel method is useful for entrapping lidocaine hydrochloride in the pores of xerogels and its controlled release. Likewise, blending of chitosan and TEOS improves tensile mechanical properties of resulted biocompatible films. Hence, the final organic-inorganic films are capable to be applied as a coating or thin films in biomedical applications.