In vitro and in vivo application of pH-sensitive colon-targeting polysaccharide hydrogel used for ulcerative colitis therapy.

The aim of this study was to prepare, characterize novel types of pH-sensitive konjac gum-xanthan gum-glycerol-sodium alginate hydrogel (KGM-XG-GLY-SA hydrogel) allowing for the site-specific delivering of drugs to the colon and evaluate its colon-targeting characteristic. In this study, hydrophilic drug of hydrocortisone sodium succinate (HSS) was chosen as a model drug and successfully loaded in hydrogel without any organic solvent. In vitro investigations were carried out to evaluate its release process.