Alginate: Pharmaceutical and Medical Applications

Advanced polymers and recent advancements on gastroretentive drug delivery system; a comprehensive review

Oral route of drug administration is typically the initial option for drug administration because it is both practical and affordable. However, major drawback of this route includes the release of drug at a specified place thus reduces the bioavailability. This could be overcome by utilising the gastroretentive drug delivery system (GRRDS). Prolonged stomach retention improves bioavailability and increases solubility for medicines that are unable to dissolve in high pH environments. Many recent advancements in the floating, bio adhesive, magnetic, expandable, raft forming and ion exchange systems have been made that had led towards advanced form of drug delivery. From the past few years, floating drug delivery system has been most commonly utilised for the delivery of drug in a delayed manner. Various polymers have been utilised for manufacturing of these systems, including alginates, chitosan, pectin, carrageenan's, xanthan gum, hydroxypropyl cellulose, carbomer, polyethylene oxide and sodium carboxy methyl cellulose. Chitosan, pectin and xanthan gum have been found to be most commonly used polymers in the manufacturing of drug inclusion complex for gastroretentive drug delivery. This study aimed to define various types and advanced polymers as well as also highlights recent advances and future perspectives of gastroretentive drug delivery system.

Microencapsulation for Pharmaceutical Applications: A Review

In order to improve bioavailability, stability, control release, and target delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), as well as to mask their bitter taste, to increase their efficacy, and to minimize their side effects, a variety of microencapsulation (including nanoencapsulation, particle size <100 nm) technologies have been widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. Commonly used microencapsulation technologies are emulsion, coacervation, extrusion, spray drying, freeze-drying, molecular inclusion, microbubbles and microsponge, fluidized bed coating, supercritical fluid encapsulation, electro spinning/spray, and polymerization. In this review, APIs are categorized by their molecular complexity: small APIs (compounds with low molecular weight, like Aspirin, Ibuprofen, and Cannabidiol), medium APIs (compounds with medium molecular weight like insulin, peptides, and nucleic acids), and living microorganisms (such as probiotics, bacteria, and bacteriophages). This article provides an overview of these microencapsulation technologies including their processes, matrix, and their recent applications in microencapsulation of APIs. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages of these common microencapsulation technologies in terms of improving the efficacy of APIs for pharmaceutical treatments are comprehensively analyzed. The objective is to summarize the most recent progresses on microencapsulation of APIs for enhancing their bioavailability, control release, target delivery, masking their bitter taste and stability, and thus increasing their efficacy and minimizing their side effects. At the end, future perspectives on microencapsulation for pharmaceutical applications are highlighted.

Microencapsulation and controlled release of Bacillus clausii through a novel non-digestible carbohydrate formulation as revolutionizing probiotic delivery

Probiotics have gained significant attention in recent years due to the growing awareness of physical health and well-being. However, maintaining high concentrations of probiotics throughout the product's shelf life and during the gastrointestinal tract is crucial for ensuring their health-promoting effects. After determining an optimal formulation through a fractional factorial model, this study optimizes probiotic Bacillus Clausii delivery through spray-drying microencapsulation using a novel maltodextrin-alginate-inulin (MDX-ALG-IN) formulation (optimized ratio: 7:2:1). Notably, this formulation exclusively comprises non-digestible carbohydrates, marking a novel approach in probiotic encapsulation. Achieving a high Product Yield (51.06 %) and Encapsulation Efficiency (80.53 %), the study employed SEM for morphological analysis, revealing an irregular form and extensive surface in dentations characteristic of maltodextrin involvement. With a low moisture content of 3.02 % (±0.23 %) and 90.52 % solubility, the powder displayed exceptional properties. Probiotic viability remained robust, surviving up to 60 % even after 180 days at 4 °C, 25 °C, and 37 °C. Thermal characterization unveiled microcapsule resilience, exhibiting a glass transition temperature (Tg) at 138.61 °C and a melting point of 177.28 °C. The study systematically addresses crucial aspects of microencapsulation, including formulation optimization, morphological characteristics, and powder properties. Notably, the MDX-ALG-IN microcapsules demonstrated stability in simulated gastrointestinal conditions, indicating potential application for supplements and complex food matrices. In summary, this research contributes to microencapsulation understanding, emphasizing the MDX-ALG-IN formulation's efficacy in preserving probiotic viability across production stages and simulated digestive processes.

Sodium Alginate—Natural Microencapsulation Material of Polymeric Microparticles

From the multitude of materials currently available on the market that can be used in the development of microparticles, sodium alginate has become one of the most studied natural anionic polymers that can be included in controlled-release pharmaceutical systems alongside other polymers due to its low cost, low toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability and gelatinous die-forming capacity in the presence of Ca²⁺ ions. In this review, we have shown that through coacervation, the particulate systems for the dispensing of drugs consisting of natural polymers are nontoxic, allowing the repeated administration of medicinal substances and the protection of better the medicinal substances from degradation, which can increase the capture capacity of the drug and extend its release from the pharmaceutical form.

Ex situ and in situ Magnetic Phase Synthesised Magneto-Driven Alginate Beads

Biocompatible magnetic hydrogels provide a great source of synthetic materials, which facilitate remote stimuli, enabling safer biological and environmental applications. Prominently, the ex situ and in situ magnetic phase integration is used to fabricate magneto-driven hydrogels, exhibiting varied behaviours in aqueous media. Therefore, it is essential to understand their physicochemical properties to target the best material for each application. In this investigation, three different types of magnetic alginate beads were synthesised. First, by direct, ex situ, calcium chloride gelation of a mixture of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with an alginate solution. Second, by in situ synthesis of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles inside of the alginate beads and third, by adding an extra protection alginate layer on the in situ synthesised Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles alginate beads. The three types of magnetic beads were chemically and magnetically characterised. It was found that they exhibited particular stability to different pH and ionic strength conditions in aqueous solution. These are essential properties to be controlled when used for magneto-driven applications such as targeted drug delivery and water purification. Therefore, this fundamental study will direct the path to the selection of the best magnetic bead synthesis protocol according to the defined magneto-driven application.