POLYSACCHARIDE AS A POTENTIAL CARRIER FOR MULTIUNIT COLON SPECIFIC DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

In the present study maltose a polysaccharide was investigated as a promising carrier for colon specific drug delivery system. It was evaluated for pH change study, by using in-vitro and In-Vivo testing in Wistar rats. In-Vitro study shows that there is drop  in the pH from 7.00 to 5.5 when incubated with ceacal content in the controlled condition. The In-Vivo experiment was carried out by administering maltose solution orally to the rats, which were sacrificed after six, seven and eight hours. Ceacal content was collected and pH was measured by using digital pH meter. The pH of ceacal content was not changed after oral administration of maltose which may be due to its absorption in upper G. I. Tract. To investigate maltose and ceacal content interaction and alteration of colon pH, the maltose spheres were prepared by extrusion and spheronization techniques and coated with different polymers to evade upper G. I. T. The developed coated maltose spheres were administered and evaluated for its pH change in same manner as discussed above. The pH of ceacal content dropped as sphere reaches and interacts with the colonic bacteria. Maltose was used to develop colon specific drug delivery system. The core minitab of Prednisolone was developed by using maltose as a polysaccharide and various excipients. The developed core minitabs were further coated with various polymers. The coating of all these polymers was optimized for specificity and feasibility of the system and evaluated. The result of this study reveals that maltose can act as a trigger for drug release in the colon by utilizing the action of colonic bacteria.