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Preparation, Characterization, and Optimization of Acacia senegal Gum Microspheres by Chemical Cross-Linking Method using Plackett��? Burman Design

Bassam Abualsoud

In this work, Acacia senegal (As) gum was cross-linked by using glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent to formulate microspheres. Acacia senegal gum is used traditionally as an excipient in different conventional pharmaceutical dosage forms. This is the first time that this gum is prepared as a cross-linked microsphere. Acacia senegal gum is characterized by safety, biocompatibility, biodegradability and widely availability. Polymer cross-linking reduces the number of hydroxyl groups on the polysaccharide chain, bonding the chains together, hence decreasing its affinity to water and converting the highly soluble gum to water-swellable microspheres that can be used as drug delivery system. In this research Acacia senegal gum microspheres were prepared by emulsification method to prepare water in oil emulsion followed by cross-linking. Characterization of the resultant microspheres was done by using FTIR, DSC, Inverted light microscope, Laser diffraction particle size analyzer, degree of swelling and micrometric properties. The results show that the resultant microspheres percentage yield was in the range of (76.25% to 90.06%), microspheres size (µ) range was between 15.37 µ and 24.14 µ, and degree of swelling was found to be between 3.58 and 4.29. The combined effect of the selected variables on yield, particle size, and the degree of swelling indicated that concentration of Acacia senegal gum, amount of cross-linker (glutaraldehyde) and stirring speed significantly affected the formulation of microspheres. They were the most critical factors in the formulation of microspheres.