Implantable 5-fluorouracil loaded chitosan scaffolds prepared by wet spinning

5-Fuorouracil (5-FU) loaded scaffolds composed of chitosan fibers were prep ared by a modified wet spinning technique. Chitosan aqueous solutions in ac etic acid were used. Ethyl alcohol was the main component in the precipitat ion medium in which glutaraldehyde was utilized as the cross-linker. The sc affolds were quite swellable. Equilibrium swellings (upto about 56.8% swell ing ratio) were achieved in about 90 min. 5-FU loading, which was achieved during fiber formation was low and was in the range of 0.21-7.55 mg 5-FU/g chitosan. Drug release, which was investigated in phosphate buffer at physi ological conditions, was high at the initial period (in the first 90 min) i n parallel to swelling, and reached almost a constant but at a much slower rate after that. Much slower release rates were observed in the initial per iod when the cross-linker density was high. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.