Preparation, Characterization and Drug Delivery Applications of Polyethylene Glycol/Corn Starch Microspheres

Abstract

The tablet form of microspheres for oral drug delivery system was prepared by the phase separation method by using the blends of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and corn starch in different ratios. Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride was used as a model drug to study the sustained release of drug from the vehicle. The as prepared microspheres were characterized by optical microscopy to analyze the morphology and size. The result shows that the average sphere size was found to be in the range of 10 µ to 40 µ. Decrease in the size of microspheres with agglomeration was observed with the increase in concentration of polyethylene glycol. Drug delivery study was carried out in the USP dissolution apparatus and the release kinetics was measured by using UV-visible spectrometer at the λmax of 278 nm. The results indicate that the release kinetics varies with the ratio of polyethylene glycol and corn starch present in the microspheres and certain formulations shows sustained release of the drug. Based on the obtained results these blends can be proposed as a drug delivery vehicle for the sustained release of ciprofloxacin.