Effect of Barium Chloride as A Cross Linking Agent on the Sodium Alginate Based Diclofenac Sodium Beads

Sustained-release polymeric beads containing Diclofenac sodium fabricated with sodium alginate were prepared by the ionotropic gelation method. Drugs were blended with sodium alginate in 1:1, 1:2, 1:2.5, 1:3, 1:3.5 and 2:2 ratios. Here, BaCl2 was used as a cross-linking agent. Beads of Diclofenac sodium were prepared with different concentrations of drug, polymers and electrolytes. Prepared beads were evaluated for their drug entrapment efficiency, loss on drying, swelling index and release behavior. The percent entrapment was highest when beads were prepared with 5 % electrolyte solution. In case of BaCl2 solution the highest entrapment efficiency was 73.70 % when the amount of polymer was 2.5 gram. The swelling study revealed that, up to sixth hours, the formulations swelled high, with few exceptions. In case of loss on drying of beads after formation showed that, the rate of solvent loss upto three hours eventually remained increasing but then decreased. In vitro dissolution data showed that drug release was increased with decreasing concentration of BaCl2. The high amount of BaCl2 ensures the maximum cross linking sodium alginate with BaCl2 which augment the conversion of sodium alginate to barium alginate. With increasing drug, polymer and electrolyte amount the Diclofenac release percentage also decreased. Thus, by modification of the polymer amount and selection of cross linking agent play vital role in efficiency and sustained- release characteristics.