Ceiba pentandra cellulose crosslinked with citric acid for drug release systems.

An alternative for the production of drug delivery system is proposed based on the Ceiba pentandra milkweed. The kapok cellulose was chemically crosslinked with citric acid (CA) at different CA proportions, and loaded with chlorhexidine diacetate (CHX) at different concentrations. Cellulose crosslinking was followed with FTIR and XPS analysis, and the CHX loading was determined using elemental analysis. In vitro studies showed a burst release within the first 2-3 h and the drug release kinetics was described with several models. In addition, the crosslinked Ceiba pentandra fibers did not exhibit a cytotoxic effect on human dermic fibroblasts. Results indicate that the crosslinked Ceiba pentandra fibers are a feasible material for the production of systems for drug release applications.