Effect of glycerol on the physical and mechanical properties of thin gellan gum films for oral drug delivery

Publication date: 25 August 2018Source: International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Volume 547, Issues 1–2Author(s): Patrizia Paolicelli, Stefania Petralito, Gabriele Varani, Martina Nardoni, Settimio Pacelli, Laura Di Muzio, Jacopo Tirillò, Cecilia Bartuli, Stefania Cesa, Maria Antonietta Casadei, Alessandra AdroverAbstractIn this work, deacylated gellan gum and the plasticizer glycerol were used as primary components for the preparation of thin films intended for the oral delivery of therapeutic molecules. The samples were prepared by a solvent casting method and characterized for their thickness, tensile properties, swelling ability, mucoadhesion capacity and uniform drug distribution. The amount of glycerol was varied from 20% to 75% w/w in order to obtain films with tunable mechanical properties and high drug loading efficiency. The addition of glycerol was able to positively influence the mechanical characteristics of gellan gum thin film overcoming the brittleness caused by the rigid interconnection among the polymeric chains. Plasticized gellan gum films containing 50% w/w of glycerol showed optimal mechanical resistance and mucoadhesion capacity, which were adversely affected by the inclusion of higher concentrations of glycerol. On the contrary, only high amounts of the plasticizer (≥70% w/w) enabled a homogeneous distribution of the model drug fluconazole within the polymeric matrix. Overall, these results indicate that gellan gum-based thin films can be pot...
Source: International Journal of Pharmaceutics - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research