Development and Characterization of Salmeterol Xinafoate Niosomes for Nasal Delivery

Abstract:

Span60 and cholesterol based salmeterol xinafoate niosomes have been successfully prepared for nasal delivery by handshaking method. A 2 two factor, three levels (3² ) full factorial design was used to optimize concentrations of span 60 and cholesterol. The prepared formulations were then subjected to the characterization and in-vitro drug release. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies were carried out to study the compatibility of the drug and excipients used. The method adopted achieved higher entrapment efficiency of 95% with least concentration of span 60 and cholesterol, while vesicular diameter observed was 4.88μm for the same concentration. The TEM images showed the formulated niosomes were spherical and discrete. At equimolar concentration span60 and cholesterol (1:1) higher in-vitro drug release of 98.53% was observed, and was considered to be the best formulation. In most cases, drug release followed zero order release kinetics. The DSC studies suggest that the formulation components span 60, cholesterol and the drug salmeterol xinafoate do not interact to form any additional chemical entity but remain as a mixture.

KEYWORDS: Salmeterol xinafoate, Niosomes, Span60, Cholesterol, Entrapment efficiency, In-vitro drug release.