Aqueous-Core Nanocapsules of Lamivudine: Optimization by Design of Experiments

Abstract

Aim: The prior objective of the current work was to optimize the surfactant concentration and type of polymer
to achieve high entrapment efficiency, less particle size, and less drug release rate constant of aqueous core
nanocapsules (ACNs) containing lamivudine. Materials and Methods: Modified multiple emulsion technique
was used to prepare the nanocapsules with biodegradable polymers, namely, poly (lactide-co-glycolide) and
polylactic acid; and the surfactant employed was Span 80. The experiments were designed by one factorial
design that was repeated for every categoric factor under response surface methodology of design of experiments
using Stat-Ease Design-Expert software. Results: The obtained results of response variable, namely, entrapment
efficiency, particle size, and drug release rate constant were statistically treated by ANOVA for response surface
quadratic model and found that influence of both factors on all the response variables was significant at P < 0.05.
The optimized formulation was found to have the entrapment efficiency of 77.12%, particle size of 250.3 nm, and
the drug release rate constant of 0.106 h−1. Conclusion: The results indicated that the objective of this was achieved
and ACNs technique was efficient to develop nanoparticles for water-soluble drugs with improved efficiency.