PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF THE MUCOADHESIVE PROPERTIES OF THERMALLY MODIFIED MUCIN ON METRONIDAZOLE TABLETS
Keywords:
Thermal treatment, Micro-wave, Mucin, Mucoadhesion, Tablets, MetronidazoleAbstract
Objective: To determine the effect of thermal treatment of mucin on the mucoadhesive and tablet parameters of metronidazole tablets.
Methods: Mucin was extracted from the giant African snails (Archachatina maginata) by differential precipitation using acetone, air-dried and pulverized. Modification of the mucin powder was carried out using a regulated water bath at 60 and 100 °C and at varied times of 1 and 12 h and a micro-wave oven at varied wattage (100-600 W) and time. Ten batches of metronidazole tablets (A1-A10) were prepared with the modified mucin by direct compression. Their granules were evaluated for flow properties and the tablets for weight uniformity, crushing strength, friability, drug content and in vitro studies. Tablet mucoadhesion was determined using the mass flow rate method.
Results: Granules of all the batches exhibited good flow characteristics with their angles of repose<30 °. Tablets formulated passed the weight variation test with hardness values above 4.0 kp and friability of 1.10-1.85 % while the content of active drug met official compendial requirements. Tablets of treated mucin at 60 °C for 1 and 12 h gave mucoadhesion values of 1.80 g/sec This value was higher than those of the unmodified mucin tablets which gave 0.70 g/sec. Tablets of micro-wave treated mucin gave mucoadhesion values of 1.0-1.30 g/sec, which were also higher than that of the unmodified mucin
Conclusion: The study shows that modification of mucin at 60 °C for 1 and 12 h may be considered as the most promising among the batches tested as their tablets had improved mucoadhesive properties compared to the unmodified mucin.
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References
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