Development and Optimization of Self-Microemulsifying Drug Delivery System (SMEDDS) for Improved Carbamazepine Delivery

Abstract

The present study aims to develop and optimize the self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) of carbamazepine to improve the solubility and hence the in vitro drug release. The SMEDDS was developed using Capryol 90 (oil), Tween-80 (surfactant), and Transcutol (cosurfactants). The results indicated that the maximum drug entrapment was found to be 99.96% while minimum encapsulation of 93.95%. The optimum formulation had a droplet size of 8.57 nm, zeta potential as -27.3mV and cumulative drug release was over 90%.

The results of in-vitro dissolution study were fitted into various kinetic models. The drug's release process was identified as first-order, followed by Korsmeyer-Peppas kinetics. The release data for the optimized batch of CBZ (CBZ-OPT) in 0.1N HCl & Simulated Gastric Fluid were compared with the marketed formulation. The results showed that the drug release from the optimized formulation was significantly higher as compared to the commercial formulation. Overall, this paper demonstrates the improved efficacy of carbamazepine- loaded SMEDDS with improved dissolution. Current studies suggest that SMEDDS plays an important role in improving the dissolution of the poorly soluble drug Carbamazepine.