DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF CHITOSAN-BASED MICONAZOLE NITRATE NANOPARTICLES PREPARED BY IONIC GELATION METHOD

Nanoparticles of miconazole nitrate were successfully prepared using the ionic gelation method. Pre-formulation studies such as solubility, melting point, FTIR, DSC, and UV spectroscopy confirmed that there was no interference between the drug and excipients. Among the different formulations tested, F1 was chosen as the optimized formulation because it showed high drug content, high entrapment efficiency, good stability, and the highest drug release over 12 hours. The in vitro release study demonstrated that cumulative drug release ranged from 80.11% for F1 to 71.27% for F4, with drug release decreasing as polymer concentration increased due to the denser matrix hindering diffusion. Kinetic analysis revealed that drug release followed the Higuchi model, indicating that diffusion through the polymer matrix. Additionally, polymer relaxation and erosion also contributed to the release process, as indicated by Peppas’ 'n' values above 0.5. Overall, the study shows that the drug release from the nanoparticles is sustained, influenced by polymer concentration and matrix characteristics.