Posted by Traditional chitosan hydrogels are highly biocompatible but too hydrophilic to effectively load and sustain release of hydrophobic drugs. In a collaboration between the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina and KU Leuven in Belgium, researchers modified chitosan with both hydrophobic alkyl groups and β-cyclodextrin using reductive amination, generating a series of dual-functionalized hydrogels and porous sponge materials. The modified hydrogels showed high drug-loading capacity along with pH-responsive release behavior: Rifampicin release was reduced in acidic conditions but became prolonged under physiological conditions, enabling more sustained delivery. The materials also demonstrated good hemocompatibility and antibacterial activity, while the porous sponge format improved handling and practical usability.
Brenda Basiglio, Sergio Román Ribone, Juan Pablo Cerutti, Wout De Leger, Marcela Raquel Longhi, Virginia Aiassa, Mario Smet, Wim Dehaen, Ariana Zoppi (2026) Synthesis of functionalized chitosan hydrogels for pH-responsive drug delivery. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 355,
151569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2026.151569