2-Thiobarbituric acid addition improves structural integrity and controlled drug delivery of biocompatible pectin hydrogels

Thiolated polymers are commonly preferred for biomedical applications with their good permeation properties providing them higher bioavailability. However, the thiolation process is mostly time-consuming series of chemical reactions. This study describes a simple irreversible thiol group integration to the pectin hydrogels by noncovalent bonding. We used 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) for thiolation. We proved with full-atom molecular dynamics simulations and experimental methods that TBA desertion is negligible. Pectin hydrogels become more flexible and their disintegration is delayed from 4 h up to four days with TBA addition. Also, hydrogels can successfully deliver the model drug, theophylline, showing a controlled release profile.