Der Pharmacia Lettre
Abstract
Author(s): Selvaraj. S, Saravanakumar. N, Karthikeyan. J, Deborah Evangeline. D, Lathamary.
Rajendran N. N
The topical application of acyclovir as eye ointment remains a concern for effective management
of various ocular viral diseases owing to poor ocular drug bioavailability. Hence the present
study was aimed to develop and evaluate nanosphere colloidal suspension containing acyclovir
as potential ophthalmic drug delivery system. The acyclovir loaded chitosan nanoparticles were
prepared by ionic gelation of chitosan with tripolyphosphate anions (TPP). The nanoparticles
were characterised by Scanning Electron Microcopy (SEM), Zeta potential analyser, Differential
Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) Spectroscopy. All the
prepared formulations resulted in nano range size partricles (200 - 495 nm) and displayed
spherical smooth morphology with Zeta potential (+36.7 - +42.3 mV). The encapsulation
efficiency and loading capacity were 56% - 80% and 10% - 25% respectively. The acyclovir
loaded chitosan nanoparticles displayed crystallinity than acyclovir. The invitro diffusion profile
of acyclovir from the nanoparticles showed a sustained release of the drug over a period of 24
hrs. Kinetic release profiles of acyclovir from nanoparticles appeared to fit best with Higuchi
model with zero order and the non- Fickian diffusion was superior phenomenon. Thus the results
suggest that acyclovir loaded chitosan nanoparticle suspension appears promising for effective
management of ocular viral infections.
