Effect of Sodium Alginate and Montmorillonite on the Formulation and In Vitro Drug Release of Diclofenac Sodium-Loaded Microbeads
Amaresh Prusty, Ritika Kishan, Soubhagini Sahoo, Prakash Chandra Senapati, Debadash PanigrahiObjective:
The current research explores how the polymers sodium alginate (SoAl) and montmorillonite (MMT) act as carriers to control the release of diclofenac sodium (DS) from microbeads for an extended period.
Methods:
Microbeads were prepared by the Ionotropic gelation (IG) technique and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to check drug-polymer chemical interactions. They were evaluated for particle size, swelling index (%SI), encapsulation efficiency (%EE), %yield, and in vitro drug release. The in vitro study was carried out in simulated gastric fluid at pH 1.2 for the first 2 hours, followed by intestinal pH 6.8 at 37°C.
Results:
The size of all successful batches of microbeads ranged from 332± 0.71 to 381± 0.17 μm. In F4, microbeads were larger due to a higher MMT concentration, which increased the void spaces when cross-linked with SoAl. The SI of the prepared microbeads across all batches ranged from 208±1.17 to 359±0.91. The absence of MMT in F6 resulted in a decrease in SI. Similar observations were found in the EE, which was lowest in the F6 batch. EE % of all batches was found to be between 71.06 ±0.39 and 94.06 ±0.39%. The in vitro results showed 99.51 ± 0.76% and 98.79 ± 1.87% of drug release from the F3 and F5 batches, respectively, after 13 hours due to the combined effects of the cross-linked polymer network of sodium alginate and MMT.
Discussion:
The present research demonstrates sustained drug release from DS microbeads for more than 13 hours. The swelling behavior depends on the network's porosity, the flexibility of the reaction between the cross-linking agent SoAl and the gelling agent, and the use of polymer MMT in DS microbeads. From the in vitro release study, it was found that the combined effects of the cross-linked polymer network of SoAl and MMT may help extend the drug release of DS microbeads, suggesting that F5 was the most suitable batch.
Conclusion:
The work reveals the potential usefulness of MMT, along with SoAl, in the formulation of DS microbeads and as a carrier for extend drug release.