Dissolution Behaviour of the Poorly Water-Soluble Drug Mefenamic Acid from Polymeric Micelles
The aim of the work was to study the dissolution behaviour of the poorlywater-soluble drug mefenamic acid (MA), a NSAID, from polymeric micelles (PMs) of Pluronic F127 and DexbLG micelles.DexbLG Copolymer was synthesised by cross-linking reaction using Dextran and PLGA. Drug excipient compatibility study was carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Pluronic F 127 and DexbLG Polymeric micelles formulation were prepared by co-solvent evaporation technique. Formulations were evaluated for particle size, Zeta potential, solubility studies, drug loading and encapsulation efficiency. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was performed to study the size and surface morphology of the PMs. SEM image showed smooth surfaced spherical micelles. The drug loading efficiency was more inpluronic F 127 micelles. Polymeric micelles showed negative Zeta potential value indicating that they are stable and resist aggregation. Solubility of MA has increased to 6 - 13 folds from PMs of pluronic F127 and 4-11folds from DexbLG micelles. Particle size was less than 100 nm and polydispersity index was less than 0.5 indicating uniform size distribution. Percentage cumulative drug release from the Pluronic micelles was higher than DexbLG micelles. It can be concluded that MA PMs formulation has significantly increased the solubility and thereby increases the dissolution of the drug.These results suggest that polymeric micelles can be used to increase the solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs.