European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

PREPARATION, PREFORMULATION & EVALUATION OF IMIQUIMOD LOADED NANOFIBER PATCH

Pooja Babbar* and Dr. Jitendra Banweer

ABSTRACT

Nanocarriers have been investigated for various biomedical applications for over a decade. In general, the use of nano-sized particles offers several advantages over other drug delivery systems.[1] In the electrospinning process a high voltage is used to create an electrically charged stream of polymer solution or melt. A high voltage electrode is linked with the polymer solution.[11] The solution is then spun through a capillary. Due to high voltage electric field between the tip of capillary and a grounded collector, Taylor cone is formed at the tip of capillary producing sub- micron in diameter fibers.[12] Fibers solidify as the polymer solvent evapourates and create an interlinked fiber layer on the surface of the collector[13] A number of synthetic, semisynthetic and natural polymers have been applied for production of Electrospun nanofibers.[19] Compared with natural sources, synthetic polymers have great flexibility in synthesis and modification. Meanwhile, natural polymers exhibit better biocompatibility and safety.[20] Natural polymers have also some unique properties such as antibacterial characteristics.[21] There are various types of natural polymers including polysaccharides, proteins, DNA and their derivatives which have been used in electrospinning process.[22] Synthetic polymers and copolymers such as poly (lactic acid) (PLA), poly (lactic-co- glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly(ε- caprolactone) (PCL), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), and poly(ethyleneoxide) (PEO) have been used to produce for tissue engineering and drug delivery.[23] In the field of drug delivery, different parameters of polymers such as molecular weight, polymer composition and ratio of amorphous to crystalline segments of the polymer could affect drug release from nanofibers.[24]

Keywords: Nanofibre, Preformulation, FTIR, Transdermal Patch.