Synthesis of poly(Oak bark) particles from oak bark extract and its utilization as a drug carrier material

As oak bark extract includes pharmaceutically meaningful precious biochemicals such as vanillic acid, quercetin, catechin, caffeic acid, gallic acid, ferulic acid, syringic acid, chlorogenic acid, q-coumaric and protocatechuic acid, the present study focuses on synthesizing polymeric particles from that extract while keeping their targeted natural bioactivity. In this study, due to the bioavailability of oak bark extracts, poly(Oak bark)(water extract) (p(OB)(w)), poly(Oak bark)(ethanol extract) (p(OB)(e)) and poly(Oak bark)(water-ethanol extract) (p(OB)(we)) particles were synthesized using redox polymerization method. Additionally, the biocompatibility, hydrogen peroxide scavenging (H2O2), antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of these substances were investigated. The characterization of the synthesized particles was conducted by FTIR and SEM methods. It was determined that even low amounts of particles (1 mg) had high antioxidant and H2O2 activity. It was found that the particles (0.1 mg/mL) showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans within the parameters tested for antimicrobial activity. Paracetamol, which is widely used as a model drug and especially recommended for use in the Covid-19 outbreak, was chosen to test the release potential of the p(OB)w, p(OB)e and p(OB)w-e particles. Paracetamol release studies were measured with a UV-VIS spectrophotometer at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C.