Purpose:
To formulate and evaluate chitosan acetate films
designed for transdermal delivery of propranolol
hydrochloride.
Methods:
Chitosan acetate was chemically modified with
acetaldehyde and the solution was prepared with 1 %
acetic acid, in which was dissolved propranolol
hydrochloride, was cast as films in Petri dish and
characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
(FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The films were
evaluated for permeability, swelling, and in vitro
drug release.
Results:
Drug content of propranolol hydrochloride in the films
ranged from 0.9 to 1.4 mg/cm2 . Swelling was
570 % for chitosan acetate and 180 % for chitosan while
drug release through chitosan acetate higher than
through chitosan. Permeability coefficient was 6.12 x 10-4
and 0.97 x 10-4 g.cm2 / day
for chitosan acetate and chitosan, respectively. FTIR
and DSC results indicated that there was no chemical
interaction between the drug and the polymers used. NMR
spectra showed the appearance of specific peaks for
acetate group. Differences between chitosan acetate and
chitosan were significant (p < 0.05) with regard to
permeability, swelling and in vitro drug release.
Conclusion:
The films prepared using the synthesised chitosan
acetate exhibited superior physicochemical and drug
release characteristics to those of chitosan. The
results also indicate chitosan acetate films may be
suitable for delivering propranolol hydrochloride via
the transdermal route which offers some advantages over
other routes.
Keywords:
Chitosan, Chitosan acetate, Films, Transdermal route,
Propranolol hydrochloride, Permeability.
