Influence of alkyl polyglucoside on physicochemical characteristics and in vitro studies of ibuprofen-loaded nanoemulsion formulations

• Main Authors: Shahripoddin, Nurul Shahidah Mohamad, Salim, Norazlinaliza, Ahmad, Noraini
• Format: Article
• Published: Springer 2021
• Subjects: QD Chemistry
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/27605/
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

This research aims to investigate the influence of alkyl polyglucoside (APG) as a co-surfactant in nanoemulsion formulation containing ibuprofen, as a model drug, which intended to be used for topical application. Phase behavior of oil/surfactant/water system containing ibuprofen with different surfactants Cremophor EL(CrEL)/APG ratios (9:1, 8:2, and 6:4) was investigated. The results showed the system with CrEL: APG ratio 9:1 gives the largest isotropic region. When compared to the nanoemulsion formulation with and without APG, it showed that the system with APG exhibited higher emulsifying ability than CrEL surfactant alone which due to the APG co-surfactant could decrease the water affinity and increase the oil affinity of the systems. Several formulations with different surfactant-to-oil (S:O) ratios (1:9 and 9:1) were prepared. The result showed that the formulation containing the S:O ratio of 9:1 exhibited smaller and monodisperse particle sizes than the formulation containing the S:O ratio of 1:9 and it was selected for the preparation of nanoemulsion formulations. The particle size ranged between 20 and 200 nm and a polydispersity index less than 0.25 was obtained. Cytotoxicity results showed that no cytotoxicity effect (IC50 > 500 mu g/mL) against 3T3 cell lines for both formulations (with and without APG) with reduced drug release when APG-corporate in nanoemulsion formulation. This shows that APG could be used as alternative stabilizing agent and the formulated nanoemulsion system could be used as a new topical drug carrier system for pharmaceutical applications.