Article in Polymers

Franci Bajd, PhD, Mikac Urška, PhD, Assist. Prof. Aleš Mohorič, PhD and Prof. Igor Serša, PhD from the Department of Solid State Physics F5 have published an article titled The Effect of Polymer–Solvent Interaction on the Swelling of Polymer Matrix Tablets: A Magnetic Resonance Microscopy Study Complemented by Bond Fluctuation Model Simulations in the journal Polymers.

Understanding the tablet hydration process is important for the development of drug delivery systems that exhibit high drug loading capacity and controlled release potential. In this study, MRI was used to experimentally analyze the water hydration process of xanthan-based tablets and to characterize their swelling process with erosion, swelling, and penetration fronts. These results are complemented by numerical simulations of the polymer-matrix hydration process by the Bond Fluctuation Model, in which the polymer tablet matrix is modeled as an assembly of interacting chains with embedded drug particles, while its hydration process is mediated by interaction with solvent particles.