FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF ALLOPURINOL LOADED CHITOSAN NANOPARTICLES

Objective: The objective of the present investigation was to fabricate and characterize allopurinol loaded chitosan nanoparticles (A-CNPs) for sustained release of drug. Methods: The allopurinol loaded chitosan nanoparticles were successfully prepared by employing the ionotropic gelation method. Further, particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), entrapment efficiency (EE), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), in vitro drug release, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) were used for evaluating formulated A-CNPs Results: A-CNPs was successfully prepared and the particle size, polydispersity index, ZP and entrapment efficiency were found to be 375.3±10.1 nm, 0.362±0.01 and 32.5±2.7 mV and 52.56±0.10% respectively. In vitro release profile of A-CNPs showed sustained release and Higuchi model was found to be best fit for drug release kinetics. FTIR study depicted no chemical interaction between pure drug allopurinol (AL) and other excipients. Conclusion: The sustained release formulation of allopurinol was successfully prepared using HMW chitosan and evaluated for different parameters