Development of sustained release Ibuprofen Alginate gel beads

ABSTRACT

In this work, attempts have been done to produce a sustained release drug delivery system using ibuprofen-loaded alginate gel beads. Ibuprofen. as other NSAIDs, may cause gastric irritation; therefore, if it was possible to decrease its release in the stomach, this would increase the compliance of the patients. Sodium alginate/ibuprofen ratio plays an important role in the release characteristics of ibuprofen. Using sodium alginate/ibuprofen ratio of 14 or more has shown zero- order release kinetics in pH 6.8 simulated intestinal fluid. Release studies in pH 1.2 have shown very limited percentage release of ibuprofen; less than 15%. Adding different excipients to the different formulae will produce regular and spherical beads but will also affect the release of the drug. Therefore, it is important to investigate the effect of excipients on the release characteristics upon adding them to the formula. The release of ibuprofen can be controlled by adjusting the Sodium alginate/ibuprofen ratio or by adding excipients