Abstract
The present study was aimed at developing intranasal polymer based solutions as alternative route for systemic delivery of Bupranolol hydrochloride (BPH). It is a potent β-blocker drug which upon oral administration undergoes extremely high hepatic first-pass metabolism (>90% in humans). The polymeric solutions were prepared using varying concentrations of polymers like sodium alginate, chitosan, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, methylcellulose (MC), polyvinyl alcohol, carbopol, hydroxypropyl MC, and hydroxypropyl cellulose. The prepared formulations were evaluated in terms of pH of the solution, angular viscosity, drug content, gel strength, gelation temperature, in vitro drug release, in vivo pharmacodynamic studies, histopathological, and stability studies. Except MC based solutions, a biphasic pattern of drug release was obtained in all other cases. Nasal administration of selected batches of polymeric solutions were found to be nontoxic and were able to improve drug bioavailability when compared to oral, nasal, and intravenous solution administrations of BPH.
Acknowledgement
One of the authors is thankful to University Grants Commission (UGC), India for providing senior research fellowship.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.