Development and Characterization of a Gel Formulation Integrating Microencapsulated Nitrofurazone

Abstract

Nitrofurazone (NTZ) is usually employed in the topical treatment of infected wounds and lesions of both skin and mucosa. Microencapsulation is a process utilized in the incorporation of active ingredients within polymers aiming at, among other objectives, the prolonged release of pharmaceutical compounds and protection from atmospheric agents (viz. moisture, light, heat and/or oxidation). With the goal of utilizing the microparticles containing encapsulated NTZ in pharmaceutical formulations, one prepared microparticles containing NTZ via ionotropic gelation of sodium alginate. The microparticles were characterized via scanning electron microscopy analyses, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses, via determination of encapsulation efficiency, and via thermal analyses (both TGA and DSC). The final gel formulation was also characterized rheologically. The extrusion/solidification technique employed to obtain the calcium alginate microparticles with encapsulated NTZ was found to be adequate, and produced an NTZ encapsulation efficiency of ca. 97.8% ± 1.1%. The calcium alginate microparticles thus obtained, with encapsulated NTZ, exhibited an oval shape and hydrodynamic diameters between 500 μm and 800 μm. From the thermal analyses performed, together with information from the infrared spectra, one may conclude that NTZ did not strongly bind to the polymer, which may be favorable for the release of the active ingredient. From the results obtained in the present research effort, one may conclude that the microparticles produced possess the potential to be utilized as carriers for NTZ in pharmaceutical formulations such as gels, ointments, and solutions.

Antimicrobial functionalization of Ca alginate‐coconut oil latent heat storing microcapsules by Ag nanoparticles

“…The chemical degradation of the polysaccharide rings takes place in the next two mass loss steps (185°C‐258°C Δm −9.2% and 258°C‐368°C Δm −10.9%), while the oxidative burning of the remaining organic material takes place in another two‐step process, between 368°C and 557°C (Δm −10.6%) and 557°C and 668°C (Δm −2.5%). This oxidative degradation/burning step is also confirmed by series of overlapped exothermic peaks 44,45 . The small mass loss step above 668.39°C (Δm −1.2%) corresponds to the degradation of the calcium carbonate, which was formed previously during the oxidative degradations of the calcium alginate.…”

“…This oxidative degradation/burning step is also confirmed by series of overlapped exothermic peaks. 44,45 The small mass loss step above 668.39 C (Δm −1.2%) corresponds to the degradation of the calcium carbonate, which was formed previously during the oxidative degradations of the calcium alginate. From thermal point of view, coconut oil is a little bit more stable, compared to the calcium alginate.…”

Development and characterization of bioactive alginate microcapsules with cedarwood essential oil

“…In addition, alginate is nontoxic, hemocompatible and offers high stability to the encapsulated compound. For these reasons, research has focused on the use of alginate‐based microcapsules as drug carrier and delivery systems for the pharmaceutical industry and in bioengineering and biomedicine applications . Alginate is a linear non branched polysaccharide obtained from brown marine algae and it mainly consists on linear polymeric chains from α‐l‐guluronic acid and β‐D‐mannuronic acid residues joined by 1,4‐glycosidic linkages .…”