Vol. 6, Issue 2, Part A (2024)

The objective of the present investigation was to formulate microballoons loaded with griseofulvin in the polymeric shell for attaining sustained release and hence improved bioavailability. Microballoons loaded with griseofulvin loaded in their polymer shell were prepared by simple solvent evaporation method using either ethyl cellulose alone or a blend of ethyl cellulose with HPMC/PVP-K30/Eudragit S100/Methyl cellulose in a fixed ratio. The percent yield of the microballoons ranged from 39.56 to 61.05% with highest yield obtained in F₃. The particle size was measured using optical microscopy and the particles were observed to be spherical in shape. The particle size ranged from 34.43±18.576±57.67±16.100 µm. The angle of repose ranged from 23.19 to 24.33° (a value less than 35° suggest good flow of powder). The Carr’s index and Hausner’s ratio were in between 5.58 to 17.33 and 1.06 to 1.21 respectively. It was found that all the formulations exhibited buoyancy in the range of 63.68 to 74.35% over a period of 8h. This suggests that the formulations were able to float for sufficient time and would be able to control the release of griseofulvin for longer duration. The in vitro drug release study depicted that the highest amount of drug was released from F₃ (65.81%) while the lowest was released from F₁ (49.65%) at the end of 8 hours of study.