Sajid Bashir1,
Muhammad Asad1,2,
Sumbul Qamar1 
,
Fakhar ul Hassnain1,
Sabiha Karim3,
Imran Nazir1,4
For correspondence:- Sumbul Qamar Email: drsumbul06@gmail.com Tel:+923336775523
Received: 4 April 2013 Accepted: 18 February 2014 Published: 23 April 2014
Citation: Bashir S, Asad M, Qamar S, Hassnain Fu, Karim S, Nazir I. Development of Sustained-Release Microbeads of Nifedipine and In vitro Characterization. Trop J Pharm Res 2014; 13(4):505-510 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v13i4.3
© 2014 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..
Purpose: To formulate and evaluate sustained-release microbeads of nifedipine for prolonged delivery.
Methods: Nifedipine microbeads were prepared using sodium alginate and pectin in different ratios by ionic-gelation method. The microbeads were evaluated for surface morphology and shape by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), micromeritic properties, microencapsulation efficiency and in vitro drug release. The microbeads were also assessed by Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine drug-polymer interaction, if any.
Results: FTIR and DSC results indicate absence of interaction between the drug and polymers used. Good rheological behavior was demonstrated with an angle of repose < 30º, and Carr’s index and Hausner’s ratio of < 10% and < 1.12, respectively Microbead size, yield and entrapment efficiency were in the range of 695 to 733 um, 69 to 75% and 54 to 63%, respectively. SEM revealed that the microbeads were discrete, largely spherical and free-flowing. Higuchi model was the best fit for the dissolution data and followed non-Fickian diffusion mechanism.
Conclusion: The microbead formulation would be suitable for sustained release of nifedipine.
Fulltext in PDF