Chitosan and Sodium Alginate Implementation as Pharmaceutical Excipients in Multiple-Unit Particulate Systems

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Technology
• Materials Science
• Drug Delivery

Background:

• Developing effective drug delivery systems is crucial for optimizing therapeutic outcomes.
• Pellets are a versatile dosage form suitable for multi-unit pellet systems (MUPS) and capsule formulations.
• The choice of binder significantly impacts pellet properties and drug release.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare and characterize acyclovir-loaded pellets using sodium alginate, chitosan, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) as binders.
• To evaluate the physical properties and morphology of the prepared pellets.
• To assess the drug dissolution profiles of pellets formulated into MUPS tablets and capsules.

Main Methods:

• Pellet preparation via extrusion-spheronization.
• Characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic image analysis.
• Drug dissolution testing of formulated MUPS tablets and capsules.

Main Results:

• Chitosan pellets exhibited the highest sphericity (0.97) and smoother surfaces compared to sodium alginate (0.93) and HPMC.
• Pellet size decreased during dissolution, but surface geometry remained constant.
• Rapid and comparable drug release was observed within the first hour for all formulations.

Conclusions:

• Chitosan is a promising natural marine polymer binder for preparing spherical acyclovir pellets.
• Pellet integrity is maintained during dissolution, with size reduction occurring over time.
• The dissolution profiles are consistent across different formulations, indicating predictable drug release.