Simulation of Release of Vitamin B12 on Hydrogel Drug Delivery Systems

In this paper, the production and release of vitamin B12 on the hydrogel carrier of hydroxyethyl methacrylate polymer were simulated by using COMSOL software. Three parameters were investigated in the simulation: system boundary velocity, initial concentration of drug loaded on carrier, and thickness of the hydrogel membrane. The provided results of the simulation revealed that in order to control optimal drug release from carrier into body, the thickness of the hydrogel carrier should be increased; In addition, the concentration of drug on the carrier increased more than the desired amount of over a period of time; Also the boundary layer’s velocity of the system is proportional to the velocity of water infusion into the hydrogel. The optimal simulation outcomes were obtained by initial concentration of 1000 mole/m3 for vitamin B12, thickness of 0.0004 mm for hydrogel membrane, and constant velocity of 2×10-11 m/s. In this study, the time required to reach equilibrium concentration for the constant boundary of system is 120000 s, while this figure for a moving boundary with the constant velocity of 2×10-11 m/s is 210000 s, and also for a moving boundary with variable velocity which is depended on time is 210000 s.