Supercritical processed starch nanosponge as a carrier for enhancement of dissolution and pharmacological efficacy of fenofibrate

•Preparation of supercritical processed starch nanosponge (SSNS).•SSNS used as a carrier for poorly water soluble drug (fenofibrate).•Solvent Immersion Method used for drug loading.•Physiochemical characterization confirmed amorphization of drug within SSNS.•SNSS based formulation improved the in-vitro and in-vivo performance.

In current study, supercritical processed starch nanosponge (SSNS) used as a carrier for poorly water soluble drug (fenofibrate) to enhance its in-vitro and in-vivo performance. SSNS was prepared by using sol- gel method and effective supercritical drying technique. Fenofibrate was loaded into the SSNS by using solvent immersion method with selected and optimized organic solvent. BET surface area of SSNS was evaluated by nitrogen adsorption/desorption analysis. SSNS and drug loaded SSNS were characterized by DSC, XRPD, FTIR, SEM, Contact angle study and evaluated for in-vitro, in-vivo studies. The results revealed that the formed SSNS material has high surface area (180m2/gm) with pore size (40 nm to 200nm). The DSC and XRPD study revealed the amorphization of drug within a SSNS. SEM study showed the continuous porous structure with differ nanosized pores of SSNS. Contact angle study showed improvement in aqueous wetting property of drug within a SSNS. In-vitro drug release study showed remarkable dissolution enhancement of SSNS formulation as compared to plain drug. In vivo pharmacodynamic study (hyperlipidaemia model) showed SNSS based formulation significantly improved the bioavailability of drug. Thus SSNS carrier system has good potential to be explored as a delivery system for poorly water soluble drugs.

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