Poor solubility, erratic bioavailability and delivery challenges associated with gliclazide, an oral anti-hyperglycemic agent commonly prescribed in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can be overcome by exploring electrospun nanofibers technology [1]. Employing emulsion electrospinning method with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) alone and in combination with poly (D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), nanofibers were fabricated as carriers for delivery of gliclazide [2, 3]. In this study, different concentrations of PLGA at 0.05, 0.01 and 0.15 %w/v was added to PVA to achieve a modified drug release profile to meet the typical physiological needs of T2DM, such as a faster drug release at the time of meals followed by prolonged drug release profile over an extended period to maintain constant plasma glucose level, is highly desirable for better T2DM management [1,4]. The fabricated gliclazide nanofibers were characterised by solubility studies, in vitro drug release studies, drug release kinetic studies, scanning electron microscopy studies (SEM), differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) studies and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy ( FTIR) studies. The formulation (GLZNF2) with Drug: PVA: PLGA 0.01: 10: 0.05 % w/v ratio produced optimized gliclazide nanofibers. The optimized formulation of gliclazide loaded nanofibers was incorporated into an empty gelatin capsule for oral administration [5, 6]. The SEM image of optimized formulation GLZNF2 shows the cylindrical shape of fiber indicates gliclazide was incorporated homogeneously in the polymer with the average fiber diameter of 4.357µm± 0.83. The solubility and dissolution rate of gliclazide nanofibers were significantly improved compared to pure gliclazide. The findings emphasize gliclazide nanofibers produce a biphasic drug release profile, initial fast burst release, followed by prolonged drug release. Fabricated gliclazide fibers in oral dosage form have tremendous potential as drug carrier and alternative technology for the improvement of solubility, dissolution rate, reduction in the dosing frequency and better blood glucose control could be explored in T2DM management.

References :

1. Panda BP, Krishnamoorthy R, Bhattamisra SK, Shivashekaregowda NKH, Seng L Bin, Patnaik S. Fabrication of Second Generation Smarter PLGA Based Nanocrystal Carriers for Improvement of Drug Delivery and Therapeutic Efficacy of Gliclazide in Type-2 Diabetes Rat Model. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):17331. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-53996-4
2. Vashisth P, Raghuwanshi N, Srivastava AK, Singh H, Nagar H, Pruthi V. Ofloxacin loaded gellan/PVA nanofibers - Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of their gastroretentive/mucoadhesive drug delivery potential. Mater Sci Eng C. 2017;71:611-619. doi:10.1016/j.msec.2016.10.051
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