Preparation and evaluation of nanoparticles of gum cordia, an anionic polysaccharide for ophthalmic delivery

The purpose of present investigation was to prepare nanoparticles using gum cordia as the polymer and to evaluate them for ophthalmic delivery of fluconazole. A w/o/w emulsion containing fluconazole and gum cordia in aqueous phase, methylene chloride as the oily phase, and di-octyl sodium sulfosuccinate and polyvinyl alcohol as the primary and secondary emulsifiers, respectively, was cross-linked by ionic gelation technique to produce fluconazole-loaded nanoreservoir system. The formulation of nanoparticles was optimized using response surface methodology. Multiple response simultaneous optimizations using the desirability approach were used to find optimal experimental conditions. The optimal conditions were found to be concentrations of gum cordia (0.85%, w/v), di-octyl sodium sulfosuccinate (9.07%, w/v) and fluconazole (6.06%, w/v). On comparison of the optimised nanosuspension formulation with commercial formulation, it was found to provide comparable in vitro corneal permeability of fluconazole across isolated goat cornea, indicating suitability of nanosuspension formulation in ophthalmic delivery of fluconazole.