Formulation and evaluation of hydrogel beads of flecainide

Abstract

This study focuses on creating and assessing hydrogel beads containing Flecainide. Hydrogels are polymer networks that absorb and retain significant amounts of water. Within this network, hydrophilic groups become hydrated in aqueous environments, forming a hydrogel structure. The primary goal was to evaluate the formulation of hydrogel beads with Flecainide. Preliminary studies, including solubility and UV analysis, confirmed the formulation's requirements. FTIR spectra indicated no interaction between Flecainide and the polymers, suggesting that the distribution of Flecainide within the beads was appropriate and within acceptable limits.Additionally, the study demonstrated that as the polymer concentration increases, the amount of medication released decreases. The Flecainide hydrogel beads exhibited controlled and extended drug release in vitro. The dissolution data for the optimal formulation (F12) were analyzed using three kinetic models: the Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas equations, zero-order, and first-order kinetics. The r² value for the optimized formulation F12 is 0.974, indicating compliance with zero-order release kinetics. Furthermore, the Korsmeyer-Peppas analysis supports the mechanism of drug release. For formulation F12, the "n" value is 1.021, indicating a supercase transport mechanism.