Preparation of Ibuprofen chitosan/montmorillonite microspheres by ionic cross-linking under microwave irradiation

Abstract

Ibuprofen chitosan (CS) /montmorillonite (MMT) microspheres have been produced by an ion cross-linking technique under microwave irradiation. The morphology and mechanical strength of the microspheres are significantly improved due to the use of chitosan as a drug carrier. Also, in comparison with other cross linker reagents, the effect of adsorption can be increased by the use of a small amount of sodium pyrophosphate. Furthermore, an orthogonal design method has been applied in order to obtain the optimal conditions for microsphere production, and the results are as follows: the reaction temperature is 60°C, the amount of montmorillonite added is 13%, the amount of ibuprofen added is 10%, the mole ratio of cation to anion is 50:1, and the entrapment efficiency is 49.70%. The structure, mechanical strength and characteristic infrared peaks of the microspheres have been examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively.