Biopolymeric nifedipine powder for acceleration of wound healing

Nine biodegradable polymeric powders of chitosan; with or without gelatin; containing nifedipine (NF), were prepared via spray drying for acceleration of wound healing. The angle of repose of powders ranged from 30° to 40° for F3 and chitosan/gelatin (C2), respectively. Upon spray drying, the mean particle size (PS) of chitosan was greatly reduced from 294 to 3.4 μm, while all formulae showed a PS near 3 μm. Specific surface area of the powders ranged from 0.06 × 105 to 2.03 × 105 cm2 g. Powders exposure to glutraldehyde (GA) vapors gave smaller particles with higher densities with F4 showing a mean PS of 0.4 μm. NF dissolution pattern in PBS, was highest from F2 with 33% released after 30 min while F3 showed only 4.5% NF released after the same period. Exposure to GA showed a reduction in NF release especially with F5 showing 30% release after 3 h. Tensile strength of 12 days-post incision wound in rats showed a maximum value of 4.7 kg cm−2 for F3 compared with 3.3 kg cm−2 for the control. Excision wounds treated with F3 also showed a fully developed epithelium with normal keratinization, and an average wound contraction of 99% compared with 79.5% for the control.

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