Factors Affecting the Production of Nanostructure Lipid Carriers of Valproic Acid
The objective of this study was to optimize a nano-lipid carrier (NLCs) of valproic acid for nasal delivery using statistical methods. NLCs were prepared by solvent diffusion method followed by ultrasonication. After a preliminary screening study using Taguchi design, the Box-Behnken
statistical model using desirability function was applied to evaluate variables affecting key specifications (minimum particle size, maximum drug loading and optimum release) of nano-lipid carriers of valproic acid. Each variable was assessed at three levels of surfactant concentration, acetone/ethanol
volume ratio and organic/aqueous phase volume ratio. The best predicted model for particle size and drug release was quadratic model, while for drug loading, 2 factor interaction model fitted better. The measured results for the optimized formulation were a mean size of 154 nm, 47% payload
and 75% of drug content released within 21 days. The optimum formulation was obtained using 1% of Poloxamer-188 as surfactant, organic/aqueous phase volume ratio of 1/5 and acetone/ethanol volume ratio of 3/1. Overall, the results show that entrapment of valproic acid in nano-lipid carriers
was achieved. Such carriers might be a promising delivery system in the treatment of seizures via the nasal route of administration.
Keywords: BOX-BEHNKEN; DESIRABILITY FUNCTION; NANO-LIPID CARRIER; VALPROIC ACID
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 February 2013
- Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology (JBN) is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal providing broad coverage in all research areas focused on the applications of nanotechnology in medicine, drug delivery systems, infectious disease, biomedical sciences, biotechnology, and all other related fields of life sciences.
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