Quality by design of curcumin-loaded calcium alginate emulsion beads as an oral controlled release delivery system

Abstract

The aim of the study was to prepare a curcumin floating bead system to act as an oral controlled release delivery system. The methodology includes the use of calcium alginate emulsion beads which contains two important ingredients oleic acid and Tween® 80. The ingredient effect was assessed in terms of curcumin release and gel stability. The formulations with higher concentrations of oleic acid were found to be more stable and selected for further analysis. The drug release mechanism was also evaluated in simulated gastric fluid. Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimum conditions for preparation in terms of floating time and curcumin release. Two factors were assessed i.e. the crosslinking time and Tween 80 concentration. It was found that both factors were affecting the floating time and drug release. The optimum conditions for the preparation of curcumin beads were determined and tested. The observed and predicted responses of the optimum curcumin bead formulation were almost the same