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Quercetin microspheres by solvent evaporation: Preparation, characterization and release behavior
Author(s) -
Scarfato Paola,
Avallone Elvira,
Iannelli Pio,
Aquino Rita P.,
Lauro Maria Rosaria,
Rossi Alessandra,
Acierno Domenico
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.28365
Subject(s) - polymer , solubility , materials science , dissolution , differential scanning calorimetry , chemical engineering , particle size , solvent , ethyl cellulose , controlled release , cellulose , nuclear chemistry , chemistry , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
Quercetin (Q) gastro‐resistant microspheres were successfully prepared by solvent evaporation method using cellulose acetate phthalate (C‐A‐P), cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), or their mixtures in different ratios as matrices. The formulation and preparation conditions (stirring speed, polymer concentration, drug‐to‐polymer ratio, temperature) were optimized to obtain high encapsulation efficiency and production yield. The prepared microspheres were submitted to several chemical–physical analyses (light scattering, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffractometry, calorimetry, infrared spectroscopy), to obtain information about particle size distribution, drug loading, and morphology. Moreover, their release properties were investigated performing in vitro dissolution studies with a pH change method. The release tests evidenced that all samples exhibit a fairly gastro‐resistance with a typical biphasic drug release trend, due to the pH‐dependent solubility of the enteric polymers used as matrices. Moreover, the total amount of released quercetin strictly depends on the system composition, increasing with the C‐A‐P percentage in the formulation to such an extent that it is about complete (∼ 90%) in the case of C‐A‐P microspheres. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008