Formulation and evaluation of thiabendazole-loaded nanoparticles

Abstract

Therefore, there is a need to develop alternative novel drug delivery formulations of Thiabendazole to improve its intestinal absorption and reduce its side effects during regular therapy. The Thiabendazole nanoparticles were prepared by hot homogenization method under high magnetic stirring using stearic acid as lipid, and poloxamer 188 was used as a surfactant. Initial pre-formulation studies using FTIR spectroscopy reveal that there are no interactions between Thiabendazole and other excipients; hence, they can be used to prepare nanoparticles. The entrapment efficiencies varied from a minimum of 43.62±0.93 to a maximum of 82.14 ± 0.61%, and it can be concluded that a higher amount of lipid is necessary for obtaining a good entrapment efficiency. The drug content of Thiabendazole nanoparticles for all formulations ranges from 66.8 % to 99.3%. A spherical shape was observed for the particles, and the particles had a smooth morphology when examined under SEM. In vitro release studies of the formulations carried out in pH 7.4 PBS showed that the total amount of drug is released for 9 hours with sustained effect. The formulations showed a drastic increase in size when stored at room temperature, where particles increased from an initial to 345.9 ±8.9 nm at the end of 1 month to 899.7 ± 5.8 nm at the end of 2 months. The entrapment efficiency of the formulation was determined at each interval to ensure that the drug molecules didn't undergo any degradation during storage.