- Wen-Biao Lu: Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, China. vip.luwb1@gzhtcm.edu.cn
OBJECTIVE: To prepare self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) of LianXiang prescription.
METHODS: After the test of solubility for the initial screening, surfactants and cosurfactants with certain oil phase were screened through the study of ternary phase diagram and in accordance with the size of self-microemulsifying areas; To screen and optimize the self-microemulsifying formulation, the influence of related factors such as the ingredients of the prescription and dilution media on the self-microemulsifying areas were tested, and the particle dimension of microemulsion was determined. The tests of self-microemulsifying rate and stability were carried out to evaluate the formulation.
RESULTS: The total alkaloid of Coptis chinensis--the essential oil of Eugenia caryophyllata-Cremophor RH60-1,2-propylene glycol(40: 20: 60: 20, w/w) was the optimal formulation; it had good self-microemulsifying efficiency and stability, and its microemulsion had smaller particle dimension and polydispersity index (17.4 nm, 0.176).
CONCLUSION: The optimal formulation can be used as SMEDDS of LianXiang prescription for follow-up researches.