MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five polymer types, namely hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Eudragit S100, and Eudragit SR100, were used to prepare aceclofenac buccal film formulation either separately or combined by solvent-casting method. These formulations were evaluated in terms of physical appearance, folding test, film weight and thickness, drug content, percentage of elongation, moisture uptake, water vapor permeability, and in vitro drug release.
RESULTS: The addition of Eudragit polymer in most of the produced buccal films was unacceptable with low folding endurance. However, the dissolution profile of buccal films made from PVA and Eudragit SR100 provided a controlled drug release profile.
CONCLUSION: Buccal films can be formulated using different polymers either individually or in combination to obtain the drug release profile required to achieve a desired treatment goal. Furthermore, the property of the buccal films depends on the type and concentration of the polymer used.
Methods: Six different polymers were used to prepare FLU nanopolymeric particles: hydroxyl propyl methylcellulose (HPMC), poly (vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), ethyl cellulose (EC), Eudragit (EUD), and Pluronics®. A low-energy method, nanoprecipitation, was used to prepare the polymeric nanoparticles.
Results and conclusion: The combination of HPMC-PVP and EUD-PVP was found most effective to produce stable FLU nanoparticles, with particle sizes of 250 nm ±2.0 and 280 nm ±4.2 and polydispersity indices of 0.15 nm ±0.01 and 0.25 nm ±0.03, respectively. The molecular modeling studies endorsed the same results, showing highest polymer drug binding free energies for HPMC-PVP-FLU (-35.22 kcal/mol ±0.79) and EUD-PVP-FLU (-25.17 kcal/mol ±1.12). In addition, it was observed that Ethocel® favored a wrapping mechanism around the drug molecules rather than a linear conformation that was witnessed for other individual polymers. The stability studies conducted for 90 days demonstrated that HPMC-PVP-FLU nanoparticles stored at 2°C-8°C and 25°C were more stable. Crystallinity of the processed FLU nanoparticles was confirmed using differential scanning calorimetry, powder X-ray diffraction analysis and TEM. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies showed that there was no chemical interaction between the drug and chosen polymer system. The HPMC-PVP-FLU nanoparticles also showed enhanced dissolution rate (P<0.05) compared to the unprocessed counterpart. The in vitro antibacterial studies showed that HPMC-PVP-FLU nanoparticles displayed superior effect against gram-positive bacteria compared to the unprocessed FLU and positive control.