Novel interpenetrating polymer network microspheres of chitosan and methylcellulose for controlled release of theophylline

Interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) microspheres of chitosan (CS) and methylcellulose (MC) were prepared by emulsion-crosslinking in the presence of glutaraldehyde (GA) as a crosslinker. Theophylline (THP), an antiasthmatic drug was encapsulated into IPN microspheres under varying ratios of MC and CS, % drug loading and amount of GA added. IPNs have shown better mechanical properties than pure CS. Cross-link density of the matrices was significantly affected by the amount of GA and MC. Microspheres were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to assess the formation of IPN structure and to confirm the absence of chemical interactions between drug, polymer and crosslinking agent. Particle size was measured by laser light scattering technique. Microspheres with the average particle sizes ranging from 119 to 318 μm were produced. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (X-RD) studies were performed to understand the crystalline nature of drug after encapsulation into IPN microspheres. Theophylline encapsulation of up to 82% was achieved as measured by UV spectrometer. Equilibrium swelling was performed in distilled water. In vitro release studies were performed in both 0.1 N HCl and pH 7.4 buffer solutions. These data indicated a dependence of drug release on the extent of crosslinking and amount of MC added during the preparation of microspheres. The release was extended up to 12 h and release rates were fitted to an empirical equation to compute the diffusional parameters, which indicated a slight deviation from the Fickian trend for the release of theophylline.