Preparation and in vitro evaluation of Diclofenac Sodium loaded Ethyl cellulose composite magnetic microspheres

In this study Diclofenac sodium-containing ethyl cellulose micro particles were prepared by theEmulsion-solvent evaporation method with a view for use in the application of magnetic carrier technology.The properties of these magnetic microspheres, such as morphological, magnetic susceptibility andpolymer-drug interactions were characterized by different techniques (i.e. SEM, magnetometry and FT-IR).The loading efficiency and swelling kinetics magnetic microspheres were also studied. The formulatedmicrospheres were below 5μm and spherical in nature as evidenced from SEM. FT-IR revealed that, therewas no drug-polymer interaction. The in-vitro release profile was studied in normal saline medium up to 7hours using USP XXII dissolution apparatus. Drug release in the first hour was found to increase andreached a maximum, releasing approximately 57.46% to 81.44% of the total drug content from themicrospheres within 7 hours. A third order equation for the drug release was also calculated. Microspheresshowed greater retention time under the influence of magnetic field created by an electromagnet with fieldstrength 8000 G, when compared to the retention in the absence of magnetic field. From this study, it couldbe suggested that magnetic ethyl cellulose microspheres could be retained at their target site in-vivo,following the application of the magnetic field and are being capable of releasing the drug for an extendedperiod of time, thus making them a suitable depot for delivering chemotherapeutic agent in-vivo