Modified Chitosan Membrane for Adsorption of GABA

Abstract

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the natural non-protein amino acid, is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. It plays the principal role in reducing neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. In humans, GABA is also directly responsible for the regulation of muscle tone and improves cerebral blood flow and promoted the metabolism of brain cells. The drug delivery system is an efficiency way to delivery drug to the desired part of body in vivo movement, which can support its safety and control the dosage form. Nowadays, to make drug delivery through the mucosa is wildly studied, which would be regarded to have broad prospects. The chitosan can be prepared from natural biopolymer chitin and cast into membranes, whose sizes and shapes can be designed arbitrarily. It has been found that chitosan membrane stimulates the migration of inflammatory cells and promotes cellular organization. Modified chitosan membrane by glutaraldehyde can be changed the function group from amino group into aldehyde group. The oxidization changed the aldehyde group into carboxyl group, which finally can be used to absorb GABA which has the amino group. The different thickness and different modifying conditions of membrane were studied from the absorption test. The ninhydrin test was used to detect the GABA’s concentration which can monitor the absorption situation from the membrane. Finally, the optimum modifying condition was obtained and the tendency of absorption in different conditions A = A0 −Ar = Kb(C0 −Cr) was obtained.