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Updated: May 11, 2026
Preparation and Characterization of Individual and Multi-drug Loaded Physically Entrapped Polymeric Micelles
Published on: August 28, 2015
The formulation of flurbiprofen loaded microspheres using hydroxypropylmethycellulose and ethylcellulose
Muhammad K Shahzad1, Muhammad Ubaid, Moosa Raza
1Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan.
Objectives:
The aim of the present work was to formulate flurbiprofen (FLB) loaded microspheres of hydroxypropylmethycellulose and ethylcellulose polymers to study the effect of different proportions of the polymer mixture on the release behavior of the drug.
Material And Methods:
A series of microspheres were prepared using tween-80 as a surfactant. The prepared microspheres were evaluated for entrapment efficiency (%) and percentage recovery. Drug release was performed in USP phosphate buffers of pH 1.2 and 6.8. Drug release data were plotted in various kinetic models, including zero-order, first-order, Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas models to investigate the optimum composition suitable for sustained drug delivery.
Results:
A significant difference in drug release kinetics was observed by varying the composition of hydroxypropylmethycellulose/ethylcellulose. As the ratio of EC/HPMC was increased, the release rate of flurbiprofen decreased.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrated the potential of polymer combinations in the formulation of microspheres for water-insoluble drugs utilizing HPMC and EC as release retardant materials, using a simple solvent evaporation microencapsulation technique. It was observed that various physico-chemical properties of the microspheres varied according to the change in polymer concentrations used in the formulations.
