Formulation and evaluation of Etodolac alginate beads prepared by ionotropic gelation for sustained release

Abstract

Oral sustained release drug delivery system is getting greater attention due to its therapeutic advantages. Etodolac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with potent analgesic and anti-arthritic properties. It has a short biological half life of 6.4 hours and is administered in a dose of 200-400 mg every 6-8 hours. In the present study, a suitable particulate system of Etodolac has been developed, by ionotropic gelation method for sustained release that would result in prolonged clinical efficacy, reduced frequency of administration and lesser side effects. Microbeads were prepared with and without using maize starch as polymer and were evaluated for particle size and size distribution analysis, flow properties, loose surface crystal study, entrapment efficiency, swelling ratio, percentage yield and drug content uniformity and invitro drug release. It was found that the particle size distribution of both formulations was varied within a narrow size range. Drug leaching (15.46 % ± 0.118) was more with presence of maize starch. Entrapment efficiency was retarded with the presence of maize starch. Swelling ratio (54.29 ± 0.151) suggested that maize starch incorporated microbeads swelled more to behave as a matrix for controlled drug delivery. Formation of highly viscous dispersion with the incorporation of polymer led to high percentage yield (51.48% ± 0.180). Drug release data was fitted into various kinetic models and indicated that the mechanism was according to Peppas model. The study revealed that the microbeads of Etodolac could be successfully prepared by ionotropic gelation technique with sustained release characteristics.