Evaluation of Incorporation of Diclofenac Sodium in Dried Sericin-Alginate Particles Prepared by Ionic Gelation Technique

Abstract

The objective of the current work is to evaluate the incorporation of diclofenac sodium (DS) in particles produced from sericin and sodium alginate blend. The ionic gelation technique was used in order to obtain particles by dripping the blend with DS in ionic calcium solution. Different formulations among sericin, alginate and DS were investigated and the efficiency of incorporation, the components in particles composition analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), surface morphology by SEM and zeta potential were evaluated. Sericin is a highly hydrophilic globular protein present in the silkworm cocoons (Bombyx mori) and usually it is discharged during the silk manufacturing. Sodium alginate is a linear polysaccharide extracted from brown seaweed and considered a good mucoadhesive agent which has abundant use in drug delivery systems. Both biopolymers are easy available, cheap, biodegradable and their chemical and physical characteristics enable their use in a wide range of materials. DS is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug widely used and it is characterized by short biological half-life in organism. The use of polymers can increase the therapeutic efficacy due the drug release promoted. In this work the sericin solution was obtained by degumming process in autoclave (1 kgf/cm², 40 min) and the sodium alginate had analytical grade (Sigma- Aldrich). The results showed that the efficiency of incorporation reached values close to 90 % and the FTIR analyses indicated that the incorporated drug did not change its chemical structure in the particles.