Polymer-based hydrogels are considered indispensable materials in modern medicine and biotechnology, as well as in various industrial fields. Hydrogels are macromolecular networks capable of swelling in water, obtained through the modification of natural and synthetic polymers. They are widely used as matrices for the effective sorption of organic substances and for drug delivery. Among natural polymers, chitosan and its derivatives attract great interest both for drug immobilization and for use as superabsorbents. It is known that levothyroxine sodium pentahydrate, a substitute for the thyroid hormone thyroxine, must be taken by the body for a long period after thyroid surgery. This drug is applied not in free form but together with various polymeric and inorganic substances. Considering its considerable side effects, the development of new drug forms through the effective sorption of levothyroxine sodium onto chitosan-based polymer hydrogels is regarded as a relevant topic. Literature analysis shows that there is a need to create new chitosan–levothyroxine complexes with controllable amounts of the active ingredient by loading levothyroxine onto chitosan-based matrices. The amount of drug released from the chitosan-based gel structure can be directly regulated by the chemical composition of the matrix and the sorption rate. The aim of this study is to investigate the sorption of levothyroxine sodium from aqueous solutions onto a hydrogel synthesized by low-temperature treatment of diethylmethylchitosan (DEMX), obtained via ion exchange with NaCl of the quaternization product of the N,N-diethyl alkyl derivative of chitosan with methyl iodide.

doi.org/10.32737/0005-2531-2026-2-32-39