Development and Comparative Analysis of Metronidazole Microspheres Prepared with Different Combinations of Polymers Using Ionotropic Gelation Technique

Abstract

Objective: Basis of this experiment was progressive preparation and evaluation of generated metronidazole loaded microsphere by desired ratio of polymers which can improve its therapeutic efficacy and reduce the need for frequent dosing. The use of microspheres can improve the bioavailability of the medication by protecting it from degradation and improving its absorption in the body. Drug release pattern can be altered by swelling Index and diffusion. Methods: Metronidazole loaded microsphere was prepared by ionotropic gelation technique using different combination of polymers, such as of Sodium alginate, Hydroxy propyl methylcellulose and Carbopol. Evaluation process for microspheres was performed by size analysis, percentage yield, swelling index, drug entrapment efficiency, drug release study (In-Vitro), kinetics models (Zero order, First order, Higuchi, Hixon-Crowell and Korsmeyers-Peppas) and stability testing. Findings: The average sizes of F1, F2 and F3 were observed and F2 had the lowest particle size. Swelling index was observed for all formulations, and F3 had the highest swelling property about 90%. During in-vitro drug release study it was noticed that F2 gives the highest percentage of drug release about 88.44% in comparison to other batches. Drug release kinetic study shows that F2 follows zero order and Higuchi model mostly with R 2 value 0.9987 and 0.9861 respectively. Stability study report for F2 batch was also acceptable for this study. Novelty: Previous researches was concentrated on controlled drug release study, bioavailability improvements and for dosage frequency reduction. But novelty of this project is to improve swelling potentiality of formulations by Ionotropic gelation techniques and finding out the association in between swelling property, drug diffusion and release kinetics of drugs that was not detected in prior studies. Also, this study determines better combination of hydrophilic polymer with respect to drug release property and improved release kinetics. https://www.indjst.org/