Mesoporous starch aerogels production as drug delivery matrices: synthesis optimization, ibuprofen loading, and release property

Abstract

The aim of this work was to prepare biodegradable starch aerogels as drug carriers. The effective parametersin the synthesis and the optimal values of these parameters were determined using Minitab experimental design software.Ibuprofen was selected as a model drug for the dissolution study and loaded into optimized aerogel during the last solventexchange step. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed that ibuprofen has been successfullyloaded into the aerogel matrix without any effect on the aerogel nature. The drug loading was calculated to be 29%.The isotherm of ibuprofen adsorption into aerogels matrices followed from the Freundlich isotherm. The in vitro releasetests of crystalline ibuprofen and ibuprofen-loaded potato starch aerogel were investigated with simulated gastric andintestinal fluids in USP 2 apparatus. It was shown that the dissolution rate of ibuprofen could be dramatically changed.Also, an improvement in the dissolution rate of ibuprofen was achieved by performing the dissolution test first in thegastric medium for 120 min and then in the intestinal medium for up to 270 min. A higher release rate (100%) wasobserved at the end of the in vitro experiment.