Abstract
Proniosomal drug delivery system is one of the advancements in nanotechnology. Proniosomes are dry formulations, non ionic surfactant coated carriers. They can be converted into niosomes immediately by hydration. Maltodextrin based proniosomes loaded with Candesartan were prepared by slurry method with different surfactant to cholesterol ratio. The prepared formulations were evaluated for compatibility, flow properties, number of vesicle formation, In vitro release study, solid state characterization (Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD)) and stability studies. The niosomal suspensions were further evaluated for entrapment efficiency. The FTIR studies indicated no interaction between Candesartan and excipients. Formulation F8, which showed higher entrapment efficiency of 83.24%, highest number of vesicle formation and in vitro release of 90.1% at the end of 9 h, was found to be best among all the prepared formulations. SEM indicated smooth surface, uniform size and shape of the formed proniosomes. PXRD and DSC studies showed conversion of drug from crystalline to amorphous form. The optimized proniosomal formulation depicted good stability.