Preparation and Characterization of Biopolymeric Hybrid Microbeads for Controlled Drug Delivery of Levothyroxine Sodium

Abstract

The active ingredient levothyroxine sodium is used in diseases originating from the thyroid gland or in the treatment of functional disorders of the thyroid gland. Since this situation will cause problems related to patient compliance, the development of long-lasting formulations to treat hypothyroidism would greatly help with solving this problem. In the study, hybrid microbeads in gel form which increases both patient compliance and the effectiveness of the drug, were proposed as a controlled oral delivery vehicle for levothyroxine sodium. Four formulations, both non-medicated and medicated were prepared using different compositions including agar, gum arabic, kaolin clay, graphene oxide, and glycerol. The microbeads were characterized by various methods to obtain information on the surface topography, composition of the material, and physical properties. Comparing the release rates of medicated hybrid microbeads for in vitro pH 1.5 and pH 7.4 environments, they performed a slower and more controlled drug release. A value of n of the dry form of the hybrid microbeads doped with kaolin clay and loaded with levothyroxine sodium (K4) less than 0.5 indicates that the emissions are compatible with the quasi-Fickian diffusion mechanism. Therefore, the slowest drug release was obtained in K4. When the release kinetics of K4 were examined, 20%, 56%, and 83% drug release were observed in 2, 4, and 5 h, respectively.