PRODUCTION OF CLARITHROMYCIN LOADED CHITOSAN MICROSPHERES BY SPRAY DRYING: AN OPTIMIZATION STUDY

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the most common patogens in the world. Although the microorganism is susceptible to many antimicrobial agents, the eradication rate is very low due to poor permeability of the antibiotics across the mucus layer, poor stability of the drug in the acidic pH of the gastric fluid, short residence time of antibiotic in the stomach and development of resistance to antimicrobial agents. The main purpose of this study was to optimize the spray drying process for the production of chitosan based microspheres loaded with clarithromycin resulting the stomach-specific delivery system to increase the gastric residence time, to allow better antibiotic penetration through the gastric mucus layer and to act locally at the infectious site. The optimum conditions and the significance of some parameters (inlet air temperature, drug concentration and feed flow rate) on spray drying efficiency and properties of clarithromycin loaded microspheres in terms of the water activity and morphology were determined by Central Composite Design (CCD) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM)