Abstract

• Doxorubicin (DOX) is known to be an effective treatment for various cancer types, including breast and ovarian cancer. In this paper, chitosan-lignin biocomposite particles are prepared by combining chitosan and lignin. Lignin is extracted from the waste of Terminalia catappa leaves. The obtained chitosan-lignin (CSLN) biocomposite particles were used as a potential candidate for controlled release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The CSLN biocomposite was characterized using FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TGDTA, and UV-vis. The FTIR data confirmed the formation of chemical bonds between the components of the obtained composites. The SEM data demonstrated that the lignin introduction had caused significant changes in the surface morphology of biocomposite. These biocomposite materials have been studied as a function of lignin, indicating that the thermal stability of the chitosan gel is enhanced. Furthermore, the samples were assessed for gel content, swelling properties, and drug release. The swelling and drug release profiles revealed that the amount of drug released and swelling of the composite depended on the CS content, LN content, and pH of biocomposite content. Prolonged and more controlled drug releases were observed for CSLN, which increased with the rise in CS content. The highest loading capacity of DOX was 0.0242 g/g for CSLN (70:30). The strong pH-sensitive behavior of DOX was also verified by its release profile. The prepared CSLN biocomposite thus can potentially be used as an effective and viable DOX carrier. These findings suggest that lignin obtained from waste of Terminalia catappa leaves could be utilized to enhance chitosan characteristics, decrease agricultural waste dumping, and reduce the load of doxorubicine.