Design and evaluation of niacin microspheres

Vidyavathi Maravajhala1; Nirmala Dasari2; Asha Sepuri1; S Joginapalli1

doi:10.4103/0250-474X.59549

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Abstract

Design and evaluation of niacin microspheres

Author(s): Vidyavathi Maravajhala¹, Nirmala Dasari², Asha Sepuri¹, S Joginapalli¹
¹ Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam (Women's University), Tirupati-517502, India ² Natco Pharma Ltd, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad-500 033, India

Correspondence Address:
Vidyavathi Maravajhala Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam (Women's University), Tirupati-517502 India vidyasur@rediffmail.com

DOI: 10.4103/0250-474X.59549

Present study aims to prepare and evaluate niacin microspheres. Niacin-ethyl cellulose microspheres were prepared by water-in-oil-in-oil double emulsion solvent diffusion method. Spherical, free flowing microspheres having an entrapment efficiency of 72% were obtained. The effect of polymer-drug ratio, surfactant concentration for secondary emulsion process and stirring speed of emulsification process were evaluated with respect to entrapment efficiency, in vitro drug release behavior and particle size. FT-IR and DSC analyses confirmed the absence of drug-polymer interaction. The in vitro release profile could be altered significantly by changing various processing and formulation parameters to give a controlled release of drug from the microspheres. The percentage yield was 85%, particle size range was 405 to 560 µm. The drug release was controlled for 10 h. The in vitro release profiles from optimized formulations were applied on various kinetic models. The best fit with the highest correlation coefficient was observed in Higuchi model, indicating diffusion controlled principle. The in vitro release profiles of optimized formulation was studied and compared with commercially available niacin extended release formulation.