Formulation and In Vitro Evaluation of Diacerein Microspheres Using Ethyl-cellulose as Rate Retarding Agent

Abstract

Diacerein is a newly developed anti-inflammatory drug that is chemically and pharmacologically different from NSAIDs. Diacerein is poorly soluble in water and possesses a slower dissolution rate. The development of Diacerein microspheres improved the aqueous solubility and the drug dissolution rate. Similarly, Diacerein microspheres enabled us to control the drug's release rate and minimize the dosing frequency. The solvent evaporation method prepared diacerein microspheres using ethyl cellulose and hydroxyl propyl cellulose as encapsulation material. In this study, six different formulations were prepared using different proportions of ethyl cellulose, and two formulations encompassing different combinations of ethyl cellulose and hydroxyl propyl cellulose were prepared. Different proportions of gelatin were used as emulsifying agents. The formulated microspheres were evaluated through FTIR, SEM, %age yield, chemical assay, release kinetics, in vitro dissolution studies, and entrapment efficiency. FTIR spectra depicted that there was no drug-to-polymer interaction. SEM confirmed the spherical nature of microspheres, and the drug entrapment efficiency was 89%. Our study demonstrates that microspheres could be a suitable technique to formulate DCN sustained release formulation.