Synthesis and characterization of micro-spheres using modified xanthan gum

VEGA, E.D.; DIAZ, J.R.A.; VASQUEZ, E.; PIGUILLEM, S.; MASUELLI, M.

Córdoba

Congreso; Tercera Reunión Internacional de Ciencias Farmacéuticas; 2014

Xanthan gum is a biopolymer used as a food additive and rheology modifier, commonly employed for thickening salad dressings and for stabilizing cosmetic products. It is produced by fermentation of glucose, sucrose or lactose by the Xanthomonas campestris bacterium. One of the most remarkable properties of this biodegradable polymer is its ability to produce a large increase in the viscosity of liquids by adding a very small gum quantity, on the order of 1-2%. In cosmetics, xanthan gum is used to prepare water gels; it is also used in oil-in-water emulsions to help stabilize the oil droplets against coalescence. In pharmaceutical sciences, this hydrophilic biopolymer slowly forms thick gels, which retain integrity of formulations and promotes drug release. The aim of this work is the study of paracetamol release using modified xanthan gum as a carrier, through micro-encapsulation techniques. The micro-spheres were obtained by ionic gelation technique, adding a 1:1 mixture of xanthan gum:paracetamol dropwise to a 0.5% (wt.) aqueous solution of iron(III) chloride, used as complexation agent, under continuously stirring. The characterization of the obtained micro-spheres was performed by spectroscopic (FTIR, UV-Visible), thermal (TGA, DTA, DSC) and optical (SEM) techniques. The quantitative composition was determined by microanalysis. Drug encapsulation efficiency under the experimental conditions was found in the range of 40-50% determined by UV-Visible spectroscopy. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that xanthan gum is highly efficient for the encapsulation of paracetamol and therefore, it can be considered as promising for its applications with other drugs in order to improve their vehiculization.