Design and Characterization of Spray-Dried Chitosan-Naltrexone Microspheres for Microneedle-Assisted Transdermal Delivery.

ABSTRACT: Naltrexone (NTX) hydrochloride is a potent opioid antagonist with significant first-pass metabolism and notable untoward effects when administered orally or intramuscularly. Microneedle (MN)-assisted transdermal delivery is an attractive alternative that can improve therapeutic delivery to deeper skin layers. In this study, chitosan-NTX microspheres were developed via spray-drying, and their potential for transdermal NTX delivery in association with MN skin treatment was assessed. A quality-by-design approach was used to evaluate the impact of key input variables (chitosan molecular weight, concentration, chitosan-NTX ratio, and feed flow rate) on microsphere physical characteristics, encapsulation efficiency, and drug-loading capacity. Formulated microspheres had high encapsulation effici

SUBMITTER: Ogunjimi AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7355536 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature