Formulation and Characterization of Blend Microspheres of Anti Diabetic Drug Glimepiride

Abstract

The objective of the present investigation was to prepare polymeric blend microspheres of glimepiride for improving its half-life using chitosan and gelatin as the two polymers for preparing the blend. The blend microspheres of chitosan and gelatin were prepared by using different ratios of both the polymers as well as cross-linking agent, glutaraldehyde (GA), by emulsion cross-linking method. The optimum formulation was one which exhibited the lowest particles size and it was used to load glimepiride (20% by weight) of the polymers. The glimepiride loaded blend microspheres were evaluated for yield, drug polymer interaction, entrapment efficiency, surface study and in vitro release. The particle size of the blend microspheres was found to be in the range of 126.8 µm to 371.3 µm. The lowest particle size (126.8 ± 6.11 µm) was obtained in AF5 containing 50% of gelatin and 50% of chitosan. The FTIR spectra of the physical mixture of glimepiride, gelatin and chitosan displayed all the characteristic peaks of glimepiride, thus indicating that no incompatibility was present between the drug and the polymer. The SEM image of the drug loaded blend microsphere revealed spherical particles of irregular size with smooth surface. The average particles size of the glimepiride loaded blend microspheres was obtained to be 131.4 ± 9.7 µm with a yield of 91.6% by weight of the drug and polymers used for formulation of the microspheres. It was found that 82.4 ± 6.8% of glimepiride was found to be entrapped in the particles. The results of the in vitro release studies of the glimepiride loaded blend microsphere revealed that 71.49 ± 0.74 % glimepiride was released from the particles at the end of 12th hour of study.