Drug loading of tannic acid crosslinked hydroxyapatite/gelatin composites via spray dryer and kinetic studies

The present study aims at studying the loading and release of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) drug from hydroxyapatite/gelatin (HAp-GEL) composites. Composites were produced in the presence of simulated body fluid (SBF) at pH 7.4 and 37 °C implementing tannic acid (TA) as a cross-linking agent. HAp-GEL composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. 5-FU was loaded on HAp-GEL composites via spray dryer through encapsulation. Drug release kinetics studies revealed that 5-FU release from HAp-GEL composites were best fitted to first order kinetic model with R² values in the range of 0.85–0.98. Gelatin and TA contents of the composites were found to affect the release profiles and initial burst values, with higher initial burst values at greater gelatin contents. pH dependent release of 5-FU was observed from produced HAp-GEL composites with higher release at physiological pH (7.4) conditions. Current study suggest that produced 5-FU loaded HAp-GEL composites hold potential as carrier for 5-FU drug in clinical applications.