Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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SYNTHESIS OF SORBITAN ESTERS OF JOJOBA OIL FATTY ACIDS AS SURFACTANTS: PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND OBTAINING SOLID DISPERSION OF IBUPROFEN TO ENHANCE DISSOLUTION

BASHAR ALTAANI 1*, RAZAN HADDAD 2, MOHHANAD KOSSA 1, QOSAY AL-BALAS 3, NASR ALRABADI 4

1Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan, 22110
2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jadara University, Irbid, Jordan, 21110
3Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan, 22110
4Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan, 22110

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In this study, a new surface-active agent (SAA) based on jojoba oil and sorbitol/sorbitan was prepared. Jojoba oil was hydrolysed to fatty acids, and then jojoba fatty acids were esterified with sorbitol to add a hydrophilic head in the presence of sodium methoxide and sodium hypophosphite under a nitrogen gas stream. The newly synthesized surfactant was characterized by its physicochemical and biological properties: acid value, acidity/alkalinity, HLB, hydroxyl value, water content, saponification number, solubility, LD50, specific gravity, iodine value and viscosity. The FTIR, LC/MS and H-NMR spectrum of the surfactant were obtained to detect the esterification of jojoba fatty acids with sorbitol/sorbitan. LD50 was found to be more than 25 mL/kg, and the HLB value of the new surfactant was found to be 3.1. Three solid dispersions of ibuprofen in dextrose were prepared to evaluate the efficacy of the new surfactant, and an in-vitro dissolution study was conducted. The solid dispersion containing the new surfactant exhibited a complete release of ibuprofen after 20 minutes, whereas the solid dispersion containing tween-80 surfactant showed a complete release of ibuprofen after 60 minutes. The solid dispersion containing ibuprofen but devoid of any surfactant showed about a 76% release of ibuprofen after 120 minutes. These findings confirmed the high surface activity, safety and efficiency of the prepared surfactant.