Assessment of polysaccharide gels as drug delivery vehicles

A range of cross-linked polysaccharide gels were prepared from bacterial sodium hyaluronate (HANa) and dextran using diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid dianhydride (DTPA) as the cross-linking agent. The physical characteristics of the gels were assessed using a Ferranti-Shirley cone and plate viscometer, a TA-XT2 Universal Texture Analyser and FT-IR spectrometry. FT-IR demonstrated a concentration-dependent incorporation of DTPA to form gels from either polysaccharide with varying properties. The gels exhibited an increase in viscosity and maximal compression force with increasing cross-linking. Dextran gels were stronger and of greater viscosity than comparable HANa gels. The gels are being investigated as potential drug delivery vehicles for parenteral depot preparations.