Abstract

PREPARATION AND EVALUATION OF STAVUDINE PRONIOSOMES

Amit Kumar and Y. Anand Kumar*

ABSTRACT

Pharmacokinetic profile of stavudine provides a strong rationale for the development of a sustained release formulation. Maltodextrin based stavudine proniosome drug delivery systems were developed by slurry method using nonionic surfactant: cholesterol at different molar concentrations. The interaction between drug and added excipients were studied by FTIR. Further proniosomes convert into scalable niosomes by simple hydration method and evaluated for entrapment efficiency, drug content, vesicular shape, size and size distribution and in vitro drug release studies. The FTIR suggest no interaction between the drug and excipients. The entrapment efficiency of niosomes depends upon the type of nonionic surfactant. A nonsignificant release pattern was observed with increase in cholesterol concentration irrespective of non ionic surfactant used. In all the formulations the best fit model was found to be peppas with ‘n’ values was found to be less than 0.5 in case of F-3, F-4, F-7, F-8, F-9 suggesting that the drug was released by fickian diffusion whereas ‘n’ values was found to be greater than 0.5 in case of F-1, F-2, F-5, F-6, F-10, F-11 and F-12 suggesting that the drug was released by non fickian (anomalous) release mechanism.

Keywords: Stavudine, Maltodextrin, Cholesterol, Span 60, Span40, Tween 60.