Porous Starch: a Novel Carrier for Solubility Enhancement of Carbamazepine

To circumvent the solubility-related issues associated with Biopharmaceutics Classification System class II drugs, a novel porous carrier has been developed. In the present study, a process for preparation of porous starch (PS) is demonstrated. The process briefly comprises of translucent gel preparation followed by solvent replacement, drying, and sizing. Carbamazepine (CBZ) was used as a drug candidate to exhibit solubility enhancement potential of PS. PS and CBZ-loaded PS (CBZ-PS) systems were characterized with respect to IR, DSC, XRD, SEM, and dissolution kinetic studies. PS-CBZ was found to follow a Fickian behavior during dissolution. In vivo studies conducted in mice displayed a superior performance of CBZ-PS as compared to neat CBZ.