Double-walled microspheres loaded with meglumine antimoniate: preparation, characterization and in vitro release study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this study was to fabricate double-walled poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres to increase encapsulation efficiency and avoid rapid release of hydrophilic drugs such as meglumine antimoniate.

METHODS:

In this study, double-walled and one-layered microspheres of PLGA were prepared using the emulsion solvent evaporation technique to better control the release of a hydrophilic drug, meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime®), which is the first choice treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. The effect of hydrophobic coating on microspheres' size, morphology, encapsulation efficiency and drug release characteristics was evaluated. Furthermore, the presence of antimony in meglumine antimoniate made it possible to observe the drug distribution within the microspheres' cross section by means of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

RESULTS:

Drug distribution images confirmed accumulation of the drug within the inner core of double-walled microspheres. In addition, these microspheres encapsulated the drug more efficiently up to 87% and demonstrated reduced initial burst and prolonged release compared to one-layered microspheres. These superiorities make double-walled microspheres an optimum candidate for sustained delivery of hydrophilic drugs.

CONCLUSION:

Double-walled microspheres provide some advantages over traditional microspheres overcoming most of their limitations. Double-walled microspheres were found to be more efficient than their corresponding one-layered microspheres in terms of encapsulation efficiencies and release characteristics.

• Authors: Ali Navaei, Morteza Rasoolian, Arash Momeni, Shahriar Emami, Mohammad Rafienia
• Journal: Drug development and industrial pharmacy (Drug Dev Ind Pharm) Vol. 40 Issue 6 Pg. 701-10 (Jun 2014) ISSN: 1520-5762 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 23594302 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antiprotozoal Agents
• Drug Carriers
• Organometallic Compounds
• Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer
• Polyglycolic Acid
• Lactic Acid
• Meglumine
• Meglumine Antimoniate

Topics

• Antiprotozoal Agents (administration & dosage, chemistry, therapeutic use)
• Calorimetry, Differential Scanning
• Chemistry, Pharmaceutical
• Drug Carriers (chemistry)
• Drug Compounding
• Drug Liberation
• Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
• Lactic Acid (chemistry)
• Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous (drug therapy)
• Meglumine (administration & dosage, chemistry, therapeutic use)
• Meglumine Antimoniate
• Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
• Microspheres
• Organometallic Compounds (administration & dosage, chemistry, therapeutic use)
• Particle Size
• Polyglycolic Acid (chemistry)
• Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer
• Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission
• Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
• Surface Properties