Eudragit-coated albumin nanospheres carrying inclusion complexes for oral administration of indomethacin

Abstract

Oral administration of indomethacin (IN) as well as drugs with low aqueous solubility usually results in poor absorption and bioavailability. The aim of this study was to prepare enteric-coated bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanospheres carrying cyclodextrin complex for IN delivery. Inclusion complex composed of IN and β-cyclodextrin (CD) was prepared by spray-drying. Indomethacin alone and its inclusion complex were incorporated into albumin nanospheres using a coacervation method followed by thermal cross-linking. Then nanosphere suspensions were spray-dried. The inclusion complex and the nanospheres were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and DSC analysis. Phase-solubility diagrams and stability constants were determined at pH 2.0 and 7.4 and at different temperatures (10, 25 and 37 °C). Swelling ability of nanospheres were evaluated as well as the in vitro release behaviour at pH 2.0 and 7.4. The nanospheres were coated with Eudragit® L-100 (EudL) or S-100 (EudS) using spray-drying to give protection in the stomach. The results showed that IN solubility can be increased by complexation with β-CD or protein/drug interaction with albumin nanospheres. The inclusion complex loaded into BSA nanospheres provided a zero order drug release kinetic. The coating process with EudL and EudS allowed to obtain a negligible release at acidic pH without limiting drug availability at pH 7.4.