ARS | Publication request: Pectin/zein microspheres as a sustained drug delivery system

Submitted to: Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: November 1, 2010
Publication Date: December 1, 2010
Citation: Muhidinov, Z.K., Kasimova, G.F., Bobokalonov, J.T., Khalikov, D.K., Teshaev, K.I., Khalikova, M.D., Liu, L.S. 2010. Pectin/zein microspheres as a sustained drug delivery system. Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research. 44(9):20-24.

Interpretive Summary: Polysaccharide/protein microspheres have been used for oral drug delivery for decades. These drug carriers from naturally occurring biopolymers are biocompatible and biodegradable, and widely accepted by consumers. However, properties of biopolymers vary with growth environments and processing conditions. Microspheres prepared from biopolymers from different resources (provider, batch, origin of raw materials, etc) often change their properties, even they are produced with the same procedure and under the same operating conditions. As a result, the release of encapsulated bioactives from the microspheres couldn’t be well controlled. This has limited the applications of microspheres in medical and pharmaceutical areas. This study compared the chemical and physical properties of microspheres using three different pectins with the same apparent molecular weight and degree of esterification. The results obtained from this preliminary study are useful in the design and fabrication of such microspheres.

Technical Abstract: A series of microspheres were prepared from pectins and corn proteins from various sources in the presence of the divalent ions calcium or zinc. The results showed that the yield of microsphere and the efficiency of drug incorporation were dependent on the type and ratio of biopolymers, the size of the divalent cations, as well as the molecular weight of the biopolymer used. There were two mechanisms that govern microsphere formation: ionic interaction between the metal ions and the carboxyl groups on pectin chains, and hydrophobic interaction of chain-chain entanglement between the polysaccharide and the protein.