Preparation and Characterization of Chitosan-Insulin-Tripolyphosphate Membrane for Controlled Drug Release: Effect of Cross Linking Agent

The term Diabetes Mellitus (DM) comprises a group of metabolic disorders characterized by chronic hyperglycemia resulting from defects in the secretion and/or action of insulin. The Insulin therapy constitutes the preferred treatment for DM, consisting of daily subcutaneous insulin injections to control blood glucose levels. The chitosan studied for Biomedicine is a biomaterial that can be used for controlled release of drugs whose release rate can be controlled by Sodium Tripolyphos-phate (TPP), which is an ionic cross linker of the chitosan. Present study, therefore, was aimed to develop and evaluate membranes of chitosan and chitosan cross linked by TPP for use in con-trolled release of insulin system, with the purpose of obtaining an alternative to the injectable administration of this drug. The developed membranes were characterized by the techniques o