A novel Ag/AgO/carboxymethyl chitosan bacteriostatic hydrogel for drug delivery

pH-sensitive Ag/AgO/carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) bacteriostatic hydrogels and Ag/AgO/CMCS/Aspirin (ASP) carrier hydrogels were prepared by Ag/AgO in situ precipitation method, and the effects of swelling, degradation, drug release and antibacterial properties of hydrogels were studied. The network of Ag/AgO/CMCS/ASP drug-loaded gels produced was mainly cross-linking by hydrogen bonding and intermolecular forces, and the cross-linking silver was mainly present in the elemental Ag and Ag2+ states. Under the condition of buffer solution pH = 7.4, the cumulative release amount of Ag/AgO/CMCS/ASP drug-loaded gel was 75.20% within 12 h, and the inhibition rate of Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) reached the maximum of 92.32%, which had broad application prospects in the medical field.