Formulation and evaluation of solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system for enhancing the solubility and dissolution rate of budesonide

Objective: To enhance solubility and dissolution rate of budesonide through development of solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (S-SNEDDS).

Methods: Liquid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (L-SNEDDS) were prepared and ternary phase diagram was constructed using Origin pro 8. Liquid self-nanoemulsifying formulation LF2 having 20% oil and 80% of surfactant/co-surfactant was optimized from the three formulations (LF1-LF3) to convert in to solid, through various characterization techniques like self-emulsification, in vitro drug release profile and drug content estimation. The prepared L-SNEDDS converted into S-SNEDDS, SF1-SF6 by adsorption technique using Aerosil 200, Neusilin US2, and Neusilin UFL2 to improve flowability, compressibility and stability. Results: Formulation LF2 exhibited globule size of 82.4 nm, PDI 0.349 and Zeta potential -28.6 mV with drug indicating the stability and homogeneity of particles. The optimized formulation SF4 containing Neusilin UFL2 was characterized by DSC, FTIR, X-Ray diffraction studies and found no incompatibility and no major shifts were noticed. Formulation SF4 released 100% drug in 20 min against pure drug release of 47% in 60 min. Regardless of the form (i.e. liquid or solid) similar performance of emulsification efficiency is observed. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that the technique of novel solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system can be employed to enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of poorly water-soluble drug budesonide.