Preparation and in vitro evaluation of xanthan gum facilitated superabsorbent polymeric microspheres

Formulation and Evaluation of Xanthan Gum Microspheres for the Sustained Release of Metformin Hydrochloride

This work aimed to formulate xanthan gum microspheres for the encapsulation of metformin hydrochloride, according to the process of ionotropic gelation. The obtained microparticles, based on various fractions of xanthan gum (0.5-1.25), were subjected to different physico-chemical tests and a drug release study. Microspheres with an average size varying between 110.96 μm and 208.27 μm were obtained. Encapsulation efficiency reached 93.11% at a 1.25% biopolymer concentration. The swelling study showed a swelling rate reaching 29.8% in the gastric medium (pH 1.2) and 360% in the intestinal medium (pH 6.8). The drug release studies showed complete metformin hydrochloride release from the beads, especially those prepared from xanthan gum at the concentration of 1.25%, in intestinal medium at 90.00% after 6 h. However, limited and insignificant drug release was observed within the gastric medium (32.50%). The dissolution profiles showed sustained release kinetics.

A comprehensive review on the COVID-19 vaccine and drug delivery applications of interpenetrating polymer networks

An interpenetrating polymer network (IPNs) is a concoction of two or more polymers (natural, synthetic, and/or a combination of both) in which at least one polymer is synthesized or crosslinked in the intimate presence of the other. These three-dimensional networked systems have gained prominence in a series of biomedical applications, especially in the last two decades. The last decades witnessed a surge in the meaningful applications of interpenetrating polymer networks, especially in drug delivery as simple IPN systems advanced and resulted in the formation of highly efficient microspheres, nanoparticles, nanogels, and hydrogels, intelligent enough to sense and respond to changes in external stimuli such as temperature, pH, and ionic strength. The structure of the polymers, crosslinking agents, crosslinking density, and polymerization method play an integral role in determining the properties and application of IPNs in drug delivery. This review article is a modest effort to highlight the importance and applications of different types of interpenetrating polymer networks for the sustained, site-specific drug delivery of various therapeutic formulations, as witnessed in scientific research literature over the past 22 years (2000-2022). A special section of the manuscript is devoted to studying the efficacy of network polymers in vaccine delivery and highlighting the future scope (if any) of incorporating the IPN system in COVID-related vaccine/drug delivery. Four key focus areas in this review article [1, 2].

Modeling of in vitro drug release from polymeric microparticle carriers

Incorporation of active substances in polymeric microparticles (microencapsulation) is an important technological strategy used in the pharmaceutical industry to improve the functionality, quality, safety and/or therapeutic efficiency of pharmaceutical preparations for different routes of administration. The current focus of research in this field is on the encapsulation of small molecules and macromolecules into microparticles based on biocompatible synthetic polymers and biopolymers, such as polypeptides and polysaccharides, in order to achieve preferable drug release kinetics and many other advantages. Diversity in the structure and size of microparticles, choice of polymers, and manufacturing processes, allows for designing a multitude of microcarriers (e.g., monolithic matrix microspheres, hollow microcapsules, water-or oil-core microcapsules, stimulus-sensitive microcapsules), whereby their impact on biopharmaceutical profile of drugs can be manipulated. The results so far indicate that the in vitro drug release kinetics evaluation is one of the key aspects of the microparticle-type carrier characterization, where the application of the mathematical analysis (modeling) of the drug release profiles is an important tool for elucidating drug release mechanisms, as well as for evaluating the influence and optimization of formulation and process parameters in the microencapsulation procedure. The article reviews representative studies in which mathematical modeling of experimentally obtained release data was performed for microencapsulated model drugs with different physicochemical properties, as well as the relevance and potential limitations of this approach.

Evaluation of the impact of abuse deterring agents on the physicochemical factors of tramadol-loaded tablet and the definition of new abuse deterrent index

In the design of abuse-deterrent formulations (ADFs), pharmaceutical strategies that do not modify the physical and chemical properties of opioid dosage forms should be investigated. Among these, four major drug abusing factors, including particle size by physical modification, swellability, dissolution rate, and solvent extraction, were mainly characterized for evaluating abuse deterrence of narcotics. Tramadol hydrochloride (TMD) was chosen as a model drug. In this study, the frequently used eight generally recognized as safe (GRAS)-listed pharmaceutical excipients, including polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC 4,000, HPMC 100,000), xanthan gum (XG), cellulose acetate (CA), polyethylene oxide (PEO), carbomer 940 NF, and Compritol® 888 ATO, were selected as abuse deterring agents and used to prepare TMD-loaded tablet. A new abuse-deterrent index (ADI) for compressed TMD-loaded tablets was originally defined and considered as an index of drug abuse deterrence, based on the assumption that it was proportional to particle size and swellability but inversely proportional to dissolution and solvent extraction rates after assigning the categorized five scale scores (one to five) to the four experimental data. The resulting ADI of the selected eight abuse deterring agents in deionized water was given in decreasing order: HPMC 4000 > carbomer 940 > Compritol® 888 ATO > XG > PVA > HPMC 100,000 > PEO, and CA while in 40% hydro-alcoholic solution in the decreasing order: carbomer 940 > HPMC 4,000 ≒ XG > PVA > HPMC 100,000 > PEO > Compritol® 888 ATO > CA. Interestingly, the HPMC 4,000 and carbomer 940 showed the highest ADI and gave drug abuse deterrent potential. This study could provide a pharmaceutical strategy that utilizes a variety of abuse-deterring agents and resist to extraction solvents in designing drug abuse-deterrent formulations and establishing their standard guidelines for regulatory authorities.

Synthesis and application of eco-friendly superabsorbent composites based on xanthan gum and semi-coke

An eco-friendly superabsorbent composites of xanthan gum-g-polyacrylic acid/semi-coke (XG-g-PAA/SC) were fabricated via grafting of polyacrylic acid onto the XG in the presence of SC. The obtained products were characterized in combination with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The result indicated that the SC interacted with the polymeric network by hydrogen bond or electrostatic interaction. The swelling ratio of the best sample XG-g-PAA/SC (15 wt%) in distilled water and 0.9 wt% NaCl solution was 410.8 and 61.5 g/g by optimizing the polymerization conditions. In addition, compared with the blank sample (only containing soil), it can be found that adding a certain amount of XG-g-PAA/SC can significantly improve the soil water retention efficiency, which can be further proved by the results of plant pot experiment. Based on the above excellent swelling capacity, water holding capacity and plant growth promoting performance, it can be inferred that the XG-g-PAA/SC is expected to become a water retaining agent or soil regulator for plant growth.

Xanthan gum production using jackfruit-seed-powder-based medium: optimization and characterization

Xanthan gum (XG) production by Xanthomonas campestris NCIM 2961 using jackfruit seed powder (JSP) as a novel substrate was reported. Central composite design (CCD) of response surface method (RSM) was used to evaluate the linear and interaction effects of five medium variables (JSP, peptone, citric acid, K₂HPO₄ and KH₂PO₄) for XG production. Maximum XG production (51.62 g/L) was observed at the optimum level of JSP (4 g/L), peptone (0.93 g/L), citric acid (0.26 g/L), K₂HPO₄ (1.29 g/L) and KH₂PO₄ (0.5 g/L). K₂HPO₄ and KH₂PO₄ were found as significant medium components, which served as buffering agents as well as nutrients for X. campestris growth. The obtained biopolymer was characterized as XG by XRD and FTIR analysis. Results of this study revealed that JSP was found to be a suitable low cost substrate for XG production.

Effective removal of humic acid using xanthan gum incorporated polyethersulfone membranes

In this study, xanthan gum (XA) was used as a hydrophilic biopolymer additive for the modification of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane to removal of humic acid (HA). The membranes are prepared using phase inversion technique and the concentration of XA was varied from 0.5 to 1.5wt%. The prepared membranes are characterized as a function of hydrophilicity, equilibrium water content (EWC), porosity studies and functional group analysis. Membrane surface and cross-sectional morphology was studied using scanning electron microscope. The lower contact angle value 64.2° was exhibited, when 1.5wt% of XA incorporated in PES membrane and this ensures that increase of hydrophilicity in pristine PES membrane. Further, higher water permeability (PWP) of 68.9(-9)m/skPa was observed for 1.5wt% of XA/PES membrane. The effect of pH on HA removal was studied for neat PES and XA/PES membranes. The rejection performance of XA incorporated in PES membranes were compared with commercial available PES membrane.

Biomedical Applications of Interpenetrating Polymer Network System

Interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) has been regarded as one of the novel technology in recent years showing the superior performances over the conventional techniques. This system is designed for the delivery of drugs at a predetermined rate and thus helps in controlled drug delivery. Due to its enhanced biological and physical characteristics like biodegradability, biocompatibility, solubility, specificity and stability, IPN has emerged out to be one of the excellent technologies in pharmaceutical industries. This article focuses mainly on the biomedical applications of IPN along with its future applicability in pharmaceutical research. It summarizes various aspects of IPN, biomedical applications and also in-cludes the different dosage forms based on IPN.

Interpenetrating polymer networks as innovative drug delivery systems

Polymers have always been valuable excipients in conventional dosage forms, also have shown excellent performance into the parenteral arena, and are now capable of offering advanced and sophisticated functions such as controlled drug release and drug targeting. Advances in polymer science have led to the development of several novel drug delivery systems. Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) have shown superior performances over the conventional individual polymers and, consequently, the ranges of applications have grown rapidly for such class of materials. The advanced properties of IPNs like swelling capacity, stability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity and biodegradability have attracted considerable attention in pharmaceutical field especially in delivering bioactive molecules to the target site. In the past few years various research reports on the IPN based delivery systems showed that these carriers have emerged as a novel carrier in controlled drug delivery. The present review encompasses IPNs, their types, method of synthesis, factors which affects the morphology of IPNs, extensively studied IPN based drug delivery systems, and some natural polymers widely used for IPNs.