Formulation and In Vitro Evaluation of Sunflower Oil Entrapped within Buoyant Beads of Furosemide

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to develop buoyant beads for the intragastric delivery of furosemide in order to evaluate the effect of incorporated sunflower oil on physiochemical properties of alginate beads. Sunflower oil entrapped buoyant alginate beads of furosemide were prepared by the emulsion-gelation technique. During the preparation of various batches of beads, the ratio of sunflower oil to water (v/v), the ratio of drug to polymer (w/w), were kept as variables at two levels; either high or low. Smooth, spherical beads with nominal weight variation were obtained. All batches of beads floated for 24 hours with a lag time of 5-10 min. The release of drug followed for 5 hours. Higuchi and first order kinetic modeling indicated a diffusion-controlled release of drug from the beads. The study also demonstrated the influence of sunflower oil on drug entrapment (81-95%) and in vitro release. A higher level of oil increased drug entrapment efficiency but retarded drug release rate as compared to a lower level of oil containing beads.

Alginate–sterculia gum gel-coated oil-entrapped alginate beads for gastroretentive risperidone delivery

“…The drug transportation from the beads to the dissolution medium would follow a two-step process. The drug would initially diffuse from the oil pockets into the alginate matrix followed by transportation out of the polymeric matrix into the dissolution medium (Bera et al, 2009). The coated optimized beads exhibited a slower drug release profile than the uncoated beads (F-O).…”

“…Oil might also form an insoluble barrier, which could obstruct the passage of drug molecules to the external media during preparation, leading to enhanced drug entrapment efficiency (Bera et al, 2009). The coated beads exhibited low drug entrapment efficiency relative to the uncoated optimized beads (F-O) (Table 1), which could possibly due to the leakage of small amount of drug during the coating process.…”

“…Olive oil-entrapped alginate beads containing risperidone were prepared by ionotropic emulsion gelation technique (Bera et al, 2009). …”

“…Currently, oil-entrapped alginate floating beads have been established as promising multiple-unit vehicles for gastroretentive drug delivery due to their simplicity in preparation along with easy surface modification (Bera et al, 2009;. Additionally, low-density oils improve the buoyancy and impose a hydrophobic barrier towards drug escaping from the matrices, which results in higher drug entrapment with prolonged drug release behavior .…”

“…Calcium alginate beads have been intensively exploited as drug carriers in gastroretentive floating systems (Bera et al, 2009;.…”