Vidart J., Freitas E., Nakashima M., Santos R., Rosa P., Gimenes M., Silva M., Vieira M., 2017, Evaluation of Incorporation Efficiency of Drugs in Sericin/Alginate Particles, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 57, 1429-1434.
Sericin is a water-soluble globular protein present in the silkworm cocoons (Bombyx mori), usually discharged in the wastewater of degumming process. Sodium alginate is a natural polysaccharide extracted from brown seaweed that has an abundant use in drug delivery systems. The blend of sericin/alginate may provide the most suitable characteristics for improvement of the drug encapsulation. The modification of the form of drug presentation becomes desirable for improved patient compliance and decreased side effects. The objective of this work is to evaluate the incorporation efficiency of quetiapine fumarate, acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen and ketoprofen in sericin/alginate particles. These particles were prepared by the ionic gelation technique using a blend of sericin and sodium alginate, with the drug embedded, and then, dripping the blend in calcium solution. The efficiency of incorporation was investigated for all formulations. The two best formulations were characterized by SEM (surface morphology) and by FTIR (drug polymer interaction). The results showed that the efficiency of incorporation reached values close to 18 % for quetiapine fumarate, 32 % for acetylsalicylic acid, 77 % for ibuprofen, and 81 % for ketoprofen. The FTIR and SEM analysis proved the incorporation of the drugs in the blend matrix.
