THE INFLUENCE OF PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DICLOFENAC SODIUM ENCAPSULATED ALGINATE HYDROGELS

Oral administration is the preferred method of drug delivery among humans because of increased patient convenience and reduced invasiveness. Although the oral route is not feasible for all classes of pharmaceuticals due to degradation cause my digestive enzymes in the stomach cavity. This study presents an approach to develop a controlled-released delivery system using a carbohydrate, sodium alginate. The use of alginates as immobilizing agents in different applications is due to their ability to form strong gels. This study investigated calcium alginate hydrogel development and their use as carriers in colon-specific drug delivery. Infrared spectroscopy confirmed that calcium crosslinking occurred indicating that calcium alginate hydrogels were formed. A simple, precise, reliable and sensitive HPLC method was developed in order to quantify diclofenac sodium released from alginate hydrogels. HPLC analysis along with other analytical techniques was used to determine that alginate hydrogels are pH sensitive and rely heavily on ion concentration. Stable hydrogels were formed in 3% CaCl2 at pH 4.