Active encapsulation of diclofenac sodium into liposomes for ophthalmic preparations
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Date
2018
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
Liposomes as a drug carrier in the pharmaceutical industry has gained currency since its
discovery in 1965 by Bangham A. D. Liposomes have been shown to improve bioavailability
as they can be delivered to target sites and possess sustained release properties which could
be used to mitigate certain weaknesses associated with current diclofenac sodium eye drops.
Diclofenac sodium (DNa) eye drop is a sterile Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug
(NSAID) with diclofenac sodium as its active ingredient. It is indicated for the lessening of
ocular pain, prevention of miosis in eye operations, easing of postoperative inflammation and
cystoids macular edema. The residence time of eye drops after application has been found to
be 1-2 minutes as a result of continuous production of tears diluting the active ingredient,
draining the eye drops into the nasolacrimal path, and eliminating it during blinking. As a
result of the active ingredient not residing at the target site for the required duration, more
frequent administration and medication is required and the risk of non-compliance is
increased.
Given the aforementioned potential of liposomes to redress the above weaknesses of current
eye drops (dosage form) available for diclofenac sodium ophthalmic application, this study
sought to encapsulate diclofenac sodium into liposomes for ophthalmic application.
The main components of liposomes (cholesterol and phosphotidylcholine) and incubation
time were set as the independent variables while percentage encapsulation, polydispersity
index (PDI) and drug release profile constituted the dependent variable. Using analysis of
variance (ANOVA) and t-test statistics, the interaction between the independent variables and
their effect on the dependent variables were tested.
Description
>Magister Scientiae - MSc
Keywords
Active encapsulation, Central composite design, Diclofenac sodium, High pressure liquid chromatography, Liposomes, In situ gels