Preparation and characterization of fast dissolving pullulan films containing griseofulvin nanoparticles for bioavailability enhancement

The aim of this study is to enhance the bioavailability of griseofulvin, a model poorly water-soluble drug, via increasing drug dissolution rate through preparation of drug nanoparticle-laden, pullulan-based strip films. The work entails (i) wet-milling griseofulvin in a stirred media mill using pullulan (polymer) along with sodium dodecyl sulfate (surfactant) as stabilizers, (i i) preparing strip films by casting-drying a precursor suspension consisting of the mixture of the milled drug suspension and a film-forming pul l ul an–xanthan gum-glycerin solution, (iii) characterizing the suspensions and the films, and (iv) exploring the effects of film thickness, drug and xanthan gum loadings, and drug particle size on the drug content uniformity, mechanical properties, and in vitro drug release from the films. Results show that thin strip films exhibited excellent content uniformity, fast drug release without having excessive amount of toxic surfactants, and easy modulation of the properties, which demonstrates their effectiveness and versatility