Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

« Back to Farmacia Journal 1/2017

GELUCIRE BASED FLOATING EMULSION GEL BEADS: A POTENTIAL CARRIER FOR SUSTAINED STOMACH SPECIFIC DRUG DELIVERY

SHASHANK SONI1, NAVNEET VERMA1, ANURAG VERMA1*, JAYANTA K. PANDIT2

1.Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, IFTM, Moradabad, 244001, India
2.Department of Pharmaceutics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

Download Full Article PDF

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of Gelucire based floating emulsion gel beads as a sustained stomach specific drug delivery carrier. Emulsion gel beads were prepared by extruding Gelucire (39/01 + 50/13) - sodium alginate emulsions loaded with model drugs (metronidazole or norfloxacin) and buoyancy imparting agent (CaCO3) into warm acidic CaCl2 solution (3% w/v, 37ºC). The beads formed were separated, washed with distilled water and dried for 12 h. The influences of Gelucire ratio (39/01:50/13) and total Gelucire concentration in the emulsion on bead buoyancy and drug release were investigated. All the drug loaded beads were found to float on 0.1 M HCl (pH 1.2). The drug release in 0.1 M HCl was found to be affected by total Gelucire content and its ratio (39/01:50/13). At Gelucire ratio 3:1 & 6:1 (total Gelucire content 66 mg and 35 mg), drug release was extended up to 18 hours, whereas, at 4:1 ratio (25 mg) significantly rapid drug release was observed.