Novel alginate-fenugreek gum (FG) gel membrane coated hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) based matrix tablets were developed for intragastric quetiapine fumarate (QF) delivery by combining floating and swelling mechanisms. The effects of polymer blend ratios [HPMC K4M:HPMC E15] and citric acid contents on time taken for 50% drug release (t50%, min) and drug release at 8h (Q8h, %) were studied to optimize the core tablets by 3(2) factorial design. The optimized tablets (F-O) exhibited t50% of 247.67±3.51min and Q8h of 71.11±0.32% with minimum errors in prediction. The optimized tablets were coated with Ca(+2) ions crosslinked alginate-FG gel membrane by diffusion-controlled interfacial complexation technique. The biopolymeric-coated optimized matrices exhibited superior buoyancy, preferred swelling characteristics and slower drug release rate. The drug release profiles of the QF-loaded uncoated and coated optimized matrices were best fitted in Korsmeyer-Peppas model with anomalous diffusion driven mechanism. The uncoated and coated tablets containing QF were also characterized for drug-excipients compatibility, thermal behaviour and surface morphology by FTIR, DSC and SEM analyses, respectively. Thus, the newly developed alginate-FG gel membrane coated HPMC matrices are appropriate for intragastric delivery of QF over a prolonged period of time with greater therapeutic benefits.
The main objective of the current work was to characterize the shear rheological flow behaviour and emulsifying properties of the natural biopolymer from durian seed. The present study revealed that the extraction condition significantly affected the physical and functional characteristics of the natural biopolymer from durian seed. The dynamic oscillatory test indicated that the biopolymer from durian seed showed more gel (or solid) like behaviour than the viscous (or liquid) like behaviour (G'>G″) at a relatively high concentration (20%) in the fixed frequency (0.1 Hz). This might be explained by the fact that the gum coils disentangle at low frequencies during the long period of oscillation, thus resulting in more gel like behaviour than the viscous like behaviour. The average droplet size of oil in water (O/W) emulsions stabilized by durian seed gum significantly varied from 0.42 to 7.48 μm. The results indicated that O/W emulsions showed significant different stability after 4 months storage. This might be interpreted by the considerable effect of the extraction condition on the chemical and molecular structure of the biopolymer, thus affecting its emulsifying capacity. The biopolymer extracted by using low water to seed (W/S) ratio at the low temperature under the alkaline condition showed a relatively high emulsifying activity in O/W emulsion.
The main objective of the present study is the physicochemical characterization of naturally available Terminalia catappa gum (Badam gum [BG]) as a novel pharmaceutical excipient and its suitability in the development of gastroretentive floating drug delivery systems (GRFDDS) to retard the drug for 12 h when the dosage form is exposed to gastrointestinal fluids in the gastric environment. As BG was being explored for the first time for its pharmaceutical application, physicochemical, microbiological, rheological, and stability studies were carried out on this gum. In the present investigation, the physicochemical properties, such as micromeritic, rheological, melting point, moisture content, pH, swelling index, water absorption, and volatile acidity, were evaluated. The gum was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), powder X-ray diffraction studies (PXRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Gastroretentive floating tablets of BG were prepared with the model drug propranolol HCl by direct compression methods. The prepared tablets were evaluated for all their physicochemical properties, in vitro buoyancy, in vitro drug release, and rate order kinetics. PBG 04 was selected as an optimized formulation based on its 12-h drug release and good buoyancy characteristics. The optimized formulation was characterized with FTIR, DSC, and PXRD studies, and no interaction between the drug and BG was found. Thus, the study confirmed that BG might be used in the gastroretentive drug delivery system as a release-retarding polymer.