International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences FORMULATION, OPTIMIZATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND IN-VITRO EVALUATION OF SUSTAINED RELEASE FLOATING MICROSPHERES OF CARBAMAZEPINE

The present study was carried out to formulate and evaluate sustained release floating microspheres of Carbamazepine using ethyl cellulose as the retardant material with high entrapment efficiency and extended release. A 23 factorial design was employed in formulating the GFDDS with Polymer-to-Drug ratio (X1), Acetone-to-Dichloromethane ratio (X2), and Stirring Speed (X3) as Independent Variables. Four dependent variables were considered: T50%, T80%, % Drug Entrapment Efficiency and Particle size. The main effect and interaction terms were quantitatively evaluated using a mathematical model. Microspheres were prepared by Oil-in-Water (O/W) Emulsion Solvent Evaporation method. A Mixed Solvent System (MSS) consisting of Acetone and Dichloromethane in a 2:1 ratio and water was chosen as aqueous phases, respectively. The prepared microspheres were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and drug loading. The In-Vitro release studies were performed using pH 1.2 SGF. The drug loaded microspheres showed 62-74 % of entrapment and releas