Sustained release delivery of favipiravir through statistically optimized, chemically cross-linked, pH-sensitive, swellable hydrogel.

Khan, Arooj; Zaman, Muhammad; Waqar, Muhammad Ahsan; Mahmood, Asif; Shaheer, Talal; Sarfraz, Rai Muhammad; Shahzadi, Kanwal; Khan, Azmat Ali; Alanazi, Amer M.; Kundu, Milton Kumar; Islam, Md Rabiul; Alexiou, Athanasios; Papadakis, Marios

In the current work, favipiravir (an antiviral drug) loaded pH-responsive polymeric hydrogels were developed by the free redical polymerization technique. Box-Behnken design method via Design Expert version 11 was employed to furnish the composition of all hydrogel formulations. Here, polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been utilized as a polymer, acrylic acid (AA) as a monomer, and potassium persulfate (KPS) and methylene-bisacrylamide (MBA) as initiator and cross-linker, respectively. All networks were evaluated for in-vitro drug release (%), sol-gel fraction (%), swelling studies (%), porosity (%), percentage entrapment efficiency, and chemical compatibilities. According to findings, the swelling was pH sensitive and was shown to be greatest at a pH of 6.8 (2500%). The optimum gel fraction offered was 97.8%. A sufficient porosity allows the hydrogel to load a substantial amount of favipiravir despite its hydrophobic behavior. Hydrogels exhibited maximum entrapment efficiency of favipiravir upto 98%. The in-vitro release studies of drug-formulated hydrogel revealed that the drug release from hydrogel was between 85 to 110% within 24 h. Drug-release kinetic results showed that the Korsmeyer Peppas model was followed by most of the developed formulations based on the R2 value. In conclusion, the hydrogel-based technology proved to be an excellent option for creating the sustained-release dosage form of the antiviral drug favipiravir.

HYDROGELS; DOSAGE forms of drugs; ACRYLIC acid; POLYETHYLENE glycol

BMC Pharmacology & Toxicology, 2024, Vol 25, Issue 1, p1

2050-6511

Academic Journal

10.1186/s40360-024-00752-8