The use of chitosan in the preparation of bioadhesive buccal films: Film-forming ability and sustaining ibuprofen release

Aim: Different polymers were introduced into Chitosan bioadhesive buccal films to achieve substantial success in sustaining Ibuprofen release for few hours, with reasonable bioadhesion strength. Design: Thin, isolatable, transparent, and elastic films of these copolymers were prepared. Nineteen formulations have been classified as six systems according to the percentages of hydrocolloids used. Materials and Methods: The films were prepared using the solvent casting technique. Bioadhesion study was conducted using the stomach mucosa of a sacrificed albino rabbit. Hydrocolloids such as Hydroxy Propyl Cellulose (HPC), Chitosan, and Methyl Cellulose (MC), in addition to other polymers, were used in addition to Ibuprofen as a model drug. Results: The mechanical strength and flexibility of the films were confirmed with no signs of breaking down. Selected films composed of about 60% (w/w) HPC were found to show higher tendency to adhere to the stomach mucosa than lower percentages of the same polymer. Chitosan films have released more than 78% of Ibuprofen content in the 1st h of release study. The introduction of MC in these films has led to a slow but continuous increase in the percentage of drugs released, reaching the climax of 82% after 4 h. Conclusion: Films made of formulation (L17) were found to be the most ideal for both releasing appreciable amount of drug (about 98% in 4 h), and their high tendency to adhering to the rabbit mucosa (71.00 Mn/m) giving enough time to exert the drug's effect locally. The mechanism of drug release was found to follow Higuchi's diffusion model for some systems and the classical first-order kinetics for others.