Formulation and Evaluation of Nanosuspension of Albendazole for Dissolution Enhancement

Poor solubililty of drugs is the major obstacle associated with formulation development. Application of nanotechnology in the formulation development of poorly soluble drugs as nanosuspensions offers the opportunity to address many of the deficiencies associated with these compounds. Therefore, the aim of present study was to develop and evaluate nanosuspensions of albendazole in order to enhance its dissolution, which in turn will ehnace its oral bioavailability. Different nanosuspensions of albendazole were prepared using high pressure homogenization and ultrasonic homogenization techniques. The preliminary study showed that smaller particle sizes of drug were obtained by increasing stirring rate, stirring time, ultrasound intensity and number of cycles. Three different stabilizers (poloxamer 188, polyvinyl alcohol [PVA] and polyvinyl pyrrolidone [PVP]) were investigated either alone or in combination to produce nanoususpensions. Prepared nanoparticles were characterized physically using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction. Prepared formulations were also subjected to in vitro dissolution studies in 0.1 N HCl. The results revealed that poloxamer 188 produces nanoparticles with significantly larger particle size than PVA and PVP. However, combination of PVA and PVP produces nanoparticles with significantly smaller size than other formulations. DSC and X-ray diffraction showed that the crystallinity of the drug was decreased. The dissolution rate of the drug in 0.1 N HCl was significantly higher due to the reduction of the particle size of different formulations and the presence of the hydrophilic stabilizers.