Atomic Force Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and Photon Correlation Spectroscopy: Three Techniques for Rapid Characterization of Optimized Self-Nanoemulsiying Drug Delivery System of Glibenclamide, Carvedilol, and Lovastatin

Abstract

This article looks at atomic force microscopy as an important aid to characterize the self-nanoemulsifying formulation of glibenclamide, lovastatin, and carvedilol in conjunction with other sophisticated technique, viz., transmission electron microscopy and photon correlation spectroscopy. Sizes obtained by processing the atomic force microscopy (AFM) image are comparable with those obtained from transmission electron microscope. Although in the present study, the mean particle size obtained from photon correlation spectroscopy does not correlate to the findings of atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, but the poly-disperse index values correlate well with the findings of AFM and transmission electron microscopy where uniform particle size was observed in aqueous dispersion of self-nanoemulsifying formulation of glibenclamide, lovastatin, and carvedilol.

Keywords:

• Atomic force microscopy
• photon correlation spectroscopy
• self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system
• transmission electron microscopy

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Professor D. Sasmal and Mrs. (Dr.) S. M. Verma for helpful discussions. S. K. S. gratefully acknowledges financial support in the form of a senior research fellowship provided during the period of study by Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India.