Title:Development of Montelukast Sodium Loaded Niosomal Carriers by Film Hydration Technique
Volume: 14
Issue: 1
Author(s): Sumit Kumar and Rajendra Awasthi
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Cholesterol, film hydration technique, lipid matrix, montelukast sodium, niosomes, non-ionic
surfactants.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to develop and characterize montelukast sodium loaded
niosomal drug carrier systems. The vesicles were prepared by film hydration technique using
different surfactants. The optimized formulation was selected on the basis of results obtained
from drug entrapment, morphology and in vitro drug release studies, and further evaluated
for possible drug-excipient interaction, thermal behavior and drug physical state, before and
after formulation using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry
and X-ray diffraction analysis methods, respectively. The morphological characterization of vesicles
was done using Transmission electron microscopy. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy system was used
for elemental and dimensional analysis of developed vesicles. The vesicle surface charge was determined using
zeta potential measurements. The results suggested that the optimized formulation had small size
(103±6.01 nm) and high drug entrapment (72.20±2.10%). No chemical interaction was observed between the
drug and excipients. The study revealed that Span 60 is a good nonionic surfactant for vesicle formulation.
After 3 months storage at 2-8°C, the optimized formulation preserved stability in terms of formulation colour,
drug amount and percent drug release. After 3 months, flocculation occured and hard cake was not formed on
the settlement of vesicles. The preliminary results of this study suggest that the designed vesicles could enhance
drug entrapment, reduce the initial burst release of drug and modulate the drug release.