During the last decades, there has been a crescent interest in the development

of polymeric devices for controlled drug release [13]. The object of these
devices is the release of pharmacologically active agents in specific sites, with
an optimal therapeutic dosage and the possibility of dosage rate control. These
systems present numerous advantages, when compared to the conventional
pharmaceutical forms [1]. Among these advantages, there is the higher
therapeutic efficacy and reduction of adverse effects, promoting a better
therapeutic adhesion from the patient. Several polymers have been used in this
field of research, the natural ones having attracted considerable attention,
specially from the point of view of cost, environmental concern, and safety [2].
Among these, chitosan has been in evidence, due to its set of interesting
properties, such as hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, low toxicity,
biodegradability, bio/mucoadhesivity, as well as its excellent capability of
adsorption [35].
Chitosan is a linear copolymer, made of 2-amino-2-deoxy-Dglycopyranose and
2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glycopyranose, of variable composition, linked by
glycosidic bonds b(1?4) [6]. Although it can naturally occur in some
microorganisms, in practice, chitosan is obtained mainly via the Ndeacetylation of chitin [polyb 1?4)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glycopyranose], an
abundant mucopolysaccharide, present in the exoskeleton of marine
arthropods and insects as well as in the cell wall of some algae, fungi and
yeasts Due to the presence of amino functional groups, NH2, chitosan is more
versatile than chitin. These groups are related to its cationic properties that are
unique among the polysaccharides [10]; to the possibility of suffering structural
chemical modifications, improving some of its physicochemical and/or
biological properties [11]; to the capacity of this macromolecule to interact with
various substrates (when solubilized) and adsorb drugs, proteins and dyes
(when in solid phase) [12].
Generally, adsorption processes in chitosan occur at a solidliquid interface
and, since adsorption essentially is a surface effect, tend to selectively remove
or storage one or more type of adsorbate molecules present in the solution, via
physical interactions (physisorption) and/or through chemical processes
(chemisorption), the two processes being affected by temperature, pH, ionic
strength, adsorbent dosage, and equilibrium time [13]. An important parameter
in the study of adsorption is the kinetics of adsorption, that governs time
effects on the interactions between adsorbate and adsorbent [14]. Pseudo-firstorder [15] and pseudo-second-order [16] kinetic expressions are the most
commonly used models in the literature [1729]. There are numerous studies
that approach the adsorption process with a diversity of dyes, applied mainly to
the treatment of industrial effluents [12,3032]. It has been verified, using tq
versus t linearization, that the pseudosecond-order model has been the most
adequate to describe a great part of adsorption kinetics.
Regarding drugs adsorption on chitosan, there is a great amount of work that
approaches incorporation/adsorption of many types of drugs in systems used
for controlled release [3338]. However, none of these works deals with the

kinetics of adsorption, an important parameter for cost and technology

optimization. Even adsorbents, few works are available in the literature.
Bridelli et al. [39] have presented a first attempt to study the interaction of
some drugs with melanines, natural black/brown pigments, present in different
regions of human and animal bodies, which accumulation could be responsible
for some adverse effects observed in vivo such as oculotoxicity and ototoxicity.
Kinetic models were tested in the adsorption of gentamicine, an
aminoglycoside antibiotic.
Seki and Yurdako [40] have investigated the adsorption of promethazine
hydrochloride, a potent and widely prescribed antihistaminic drug, onto KSF
montmorillonite particles, a clay mineral constituted of hydrated alumina
silicates. This material presents high absorptive capability and surface area
besides being bioinert. Mestre et al. [41] studied the adsorption of ibuprophen,
a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic drug in particles of
activated carbon for industrial effluent treatments. Aksu and Tun [42] carried
out a study on the adsorption of penicillin G, one of the most widely used
antibiotics, in three different types of adsorbents: Rhizopus arrhizus, activated
sludge, and activated carbon. As usual, the best model adjusted to the sorption
data from the cited works was the pseudo-second-order one.