Guar gum as a promising starting material for diverse applications: A review.

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Abstract

Guar gum is the powdered endosperm of the seeds of the Cyamopsis tetragonolobus which is a leguminous crop. The endosperm contains a complex polysaccharide called galactomannan, which is a polymer of d-galactose and d-mannose. This hydroxyl group rich polymer when added to water forms hydrogen bonding imparting significant viscosity and thickening to the solution. Due to its thickening, emulsifying, binding and gelling properties, quick solubility in cold water, wide pH stability, film forming ability and biodegradability, it finds applications in large number of industries. In last few decades a lot of research has been done on guar gum to fit it into particular application, as such or by its structural modifications. This review gives an overview of the nature, chemistry and properties of guar gum and discusses recent developments in its modifications and applications in major industries like hydraulic fracturing, explosives, food, agriculture, textile, paper, cosmetics, bioremediation, drug delivery, medical and pharmaceuticals. This article would help researchers engaged in biopolymer area and other end-users who want to begin research in natural polysaccharides.

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Polymers in sensor applications

Basudam Adhikari, Sarmishtha Majumdar (2004)

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pH sensitive alginate-guar gum hydrogel for the controlled delivery of protein drugs.

William T. Abraham, M. George (2007)

Design of a pH sensitive alginate-guar gum hydrogel crosslinked with glutaraldehyde was done for the controlled delivery of protein drugs. Alginate is a non-toxic polysaccharide with favorable pH sensitive properties for intestinal delivery of protein drugs. Drug leaching during hydrogel preparation and rapid dissolution of alginate at higher pH are major limitations, as it results in very low entrapment efficiency and burst release of entrapped protein drug, once it enters the intestine. To overcome these limitations, another natural polysaccharide, guargum was included in the alginate matrix along with a cross linking agent to ensure maximum encapsulation efficiency and controlled drug release. The crosslinked alginate-guar gum matrix is novel and the drug loading process used in the study was mild and performed in aqueous environment. The release profiles of a model protein drug (BSA) from test hydrogels were studied under simulated gastric and intestinal media. The beads having an alginate to guar gum percentage combination of 3:1 showed desirable characters like better encapsulation efficiency and bead forming properties in the preliminary studies. The glutaraldehyde concentration giving maximum (100%) encapsulation efficiency and the most appropriate swelling characteristics was found to be 0.5% (w/v). Freeze-dried samples showed swelling ratios most suitable for drug release in simulated intestinal media ( approximately 8.5). Protein release from test hydrogels was minimal at pH 1.2 ( approximately 20%), and it was found to be significantly higher ( approximately 90%) at pH 7.4. Presence of guar gum and glutaraldehyde crosslinking increases entrapment efficiency and prevents the rapid dissolution of alginate in higher pH of the intestine, ensuring a controlled release of the entrapped drug.

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First successful design of semi-IPN hydrogel-silver nanocomposites: a facile approach for antibacterial application.

Narayana P. Murthy, Y Murali Mohan, K. N. Mohana … (2008)

Semi-IPN hydrogels in which poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) chains were physically dispersed throughout poly(acrylamide) (PAM) gel networks were synthesized. These semi-IPN hydrogel networks can act as excellent nanoreactors for producing and stabilizing metal nanoparticles. The current methodology allows us to entrap metal nanoparticles throughout hydrogel networks via PVP chains. An optimized semi-IPN hydrogel formulation was found to produce silver nanoparticles, ca. 3-5 nm. The synthesized semi-IPN hydrogel-silver nanocomposites were fully characterized by using UV-vis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The developed semi-IPN hydrogel-silver nanocomposite (SHSNC) was evaluated for preliminary antibacterial applications.