Debashis Mukhopadhyay

Preparation and Evaluation of Novel Drug Alginate Granule Systems: Alginate Based Drug Delivery Systems for Taste Improvement Debashis Mukhopadhyay

Oral solid drug particles are sometimes incorporated within a polymer matrix or encapsulated to delay drug release only for short times (<60s) to improve taste. They are meant to release the drug once it reaches the stomach to produce the effect. Manufacturing of drug polymer formulations is often limited to the laboratory as they involve use of large amounts of toxic solvents or water which needs to be removed. This makes the process complicated and costly especially if these systems are to be used for taste improvement. This research demonstrates a novel way to prepare a drug polymeric system using paracetamol and alginate as model drug and polymer respectively. The method is simple and scalable at the same time uses very little solvent (water) during manufacture. Physicochemical characterization and sensory evaluation of selected granules screened using a specially designed sub 60s drug release suggest this technology can be used successfully as platform technology for taste improvement in the future. The technology may be extended for other drugs and polymers especially water soluble polymers which can be cross linked using counter ions.