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The effective administration of medication has advanced over decades, but the medical community still faces significant demand. Burst release and inadequate assimilation are major drawbacks that affect wound healing efficiency, leading to therapy failure. The widespread application of polymers in biomedical research is significant. The polyether ether ketone (PEEK) family is known for its biocompatibility, inertness, and semi-crystalline thermoplastic properties. In our present studies, we have chosen a member of this family, polyether ketone (PEK), to explore its role as a drug carrier. The PEK backbone was subjected to sulfonation to increase its hydrophilicity. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the sulfonation process based on the time, degree of sulfonation, and temperature. The PEK polymer was sulfonated using sulfuric acid at 150 °C for 6 h; back titration was performed to quantify the degree of sulfonation, with 69% representing the maximum sulfonation. SPEK and nalidixic sodium salt were dissolved in dichloroacetic acid to create a thin membrane. The physiological and morphological properties were assessed for the SPEK membrane. The studies on drug release in distilled water and a simulated body fluid over the course of 24 h revealed a controlled, gradual increase in the release rate, correlating with a mathematical model and demonstrating the zero-order nature of the drug release. Hemolysis on the SPEK membrane revealed lower toxicity. The SPEK membrane’s biocompatibility was established using in vitro cytotoxicity tests on the Vero (IC₅₀: 137.85 g/mL) cell lines. These results confirm that the SPEK membranes are suitable for sustained drug release. Full article

Conventional drug delivery has its share of shortcomings, especially its rapid drug release with a relatively short duration of therapeutic drug concentrations, even in topical applications. Prolonged drug release can be effectively achieved by modifying the carrier in a drug delivery system. Among the several candidates for carriers studied over the years, poly (ether ether ketone), a biocompatible thermoplastic, was chosen as a suitable carrier. Its inherent hydrophobicity was overcome by controlled sulfonation, which introduced polar sulfonate groups onto the polymer backbone. Optimization of the sulfonation process was completed by the variation of the duration, temperature of the sulfonation, and concentration of sulfuric acid. The sulfonation was confirmed by EDS and the degree of sulfonation was determined by an NMR analysis (61.6% and 98.9%). Various physical properties such as morphology, mechanical strength, and thermal stability were studied using scanning electron microscopy, tensile testing, and thermogravimetric analysis. Cytotoxicity tests were performed on the SPEEK samples to study the variation in biocompatibility against a Vero cell line. The drug release kinetics of ciprofloxacin (CP) and nalidixic acid sodium salt (NA)-loaded membranes were studied in deionized water as well as SBF and compared against the absorbance of standardized solutions of the drug. The data were then used to determine the diffusion, distribution, and permeability coefficients. Various mathematical models were used to fit the obtained data to establish the order and mechanism of drug release. Studies revealed that drug release occurs by diffusion and follows zero-order kinetics. Full article