The design of an efficient drug delivery platform relies on the fabrication of a suitable polymeric network that can modulate the release of therapeutic molecules. In this study, we aimed to reach this goal by fabricating a novel nanocomposite double network (nDN) hydrogel, which contains the synthetic clay Laponite^® as the nanofiller necessary to influence the mechanical, physical and releasing properties of the designed carrier. Laponite concentration was varied from 0.5% up to 1.5% w/v to modulate the mechanical and swelling behavior of a hydrogel made of a methacrylate derivate of gellan gum (GG-MA), which served as the first brittle network of the nDN system. Additionally, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PEG-DMA) was chosen as the second soft and elastic network. The inclusion of the clay at a concentration as low as 0.5% w/v positively influenced the single network (SN) hydrogel properties by increasing the stiffness and reducing the swelling ratio of the GG-MA hydrogels. The presence of Laponite® affected the amount of PEG-DMA diffused within the SN of GG-MA. The resulting stretchable and tough nDN system presented a higher swelling ratio in deionized water, and elasticity when compared to the DN hydrogels without any Laponite. Finally, the nDN system showed increased drug adsorption and displayed a better control in modulating the release kinetics of the model drug ofloxacin. Overall, these findings suggest the possible use of the designed nDN system as a novel drug delivery platform for the sustained release of therapeutic molecules.

有效药物递送平台的设计依赖于合适的聚合物网络的制造，该聚合物网络可以调节治疗性分子的释放。在这项研究中，我们的目的通过一种制造纳米复合材料的新双网络（NDN）水凝胶，其含有合成粘土的Laponite实现这一目标^®作为影响设计载体的机械，物理和释放性能所必需的纳米填料。合成锂皂石的浓度范围从0.5％到1.5％w / v，以调节由吉兰糖胶的甲基丙烯酸酯衍生物（GG-MA）制成的水凝胶的机械和溶胀行为，该凝胶充当nDN系统的第一个脆性网络。此外，聚乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯（PEG-DMA）被选为第二个柔软和弹性的网络。通过增加刚度和降低GG-MA水凝胶的溶胀率，以低至0.5％w / v的浓度包含粘土对单网络（SN）水凝胶性质产生积极影响。Laponite®的存在影响了GG-MA SN中扩散的PEG-DMA的数量。与不含Laponite的DN水凝胶相比，所得的可拉伸且坚韧的nDN系统在去离子水中的溶胀率更高，并且具有弹性。最后，nDN系统显示出增加的药物吸附，并在调节模型氧氟沙星的释放动力学方面表现出更好的控制。总体而言，这些发现表明，可以将设计的nDN系统用作持续释放治疗分子的新型药物递送平台。