HPMC BASED MUCOADHESIVE FOR DELIVERY OF TRIAMCINOLONE ACETONIDE: MUCOADHESION AND DRUG RELEASE PROPERTIES, AN IN VITRO STUDY

Abstract

Triamcinolone acetonide (TA) is the first-line drug for treating inflammatory oral lesions, 0.1% being the most effective concentration. However, conventional topical TA applications are poorly retained on the oral mucosa. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) polymer patches are widely used as buccal mucosa drug delivery systems, as they enhance a drug's ability to adhere to the oral mucosa and reduces the frequency and amount of drug application. The objective of this study was to prepare a new HPMC-based buccal muco-adhesive polymer patch for the delivery of 0.1% TA. The solubility, water absorption, muco-adhesion and in vitro drug release study using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were compared with a commercial product. The results revealed that the 3% and 2% HPMC patches had significantly lower dissolution rates, a favorable property, compared with the commercial product (p<0.05). The 3% HPMC group demonstrated the highest dissolution time of (7.11 ± 0.68) hours. Every concentration of the newly developed muco-adhesive polymer patches had higher water absorption than the commercial patches at 1 and 5 minutes. In addition, the 3% and 2% HPMC patches demonstrated significantly higher water absorption compared with the commercial patches at 10 and 30 minutes. There was no significant difference in muco-adhesion between the developed patches with commercial product. All HPMC groups did not show significantly higher drug release compared with the commercial product group at every time point. 3% HPMC group had the highest drug release profiles. 3% HPMC had significantly higher than the commercial product at 2 hours (p<0.05). The 3% HPMC group had significantly higher drug release than 1% HPMC at 2,4 and 6 hours (p<0.05). We demonstrated the potential of a buccal muco-adhesive polymer patch as an alternative treatment for oral ulcerations. The buccal mucosa patches had a higher dissolution time compared with the commercial product. The 3% HPMC had lower dissolving and higher drug release at 2 to 10 hours. The newly developed muco-adhesive polymer patches had improved properties pertaining to drug application. Further study is needed to improve some of the properties of the oral patches and to implement a clinical study.