Flow Dispersion for Obtaining Ivermectin Encapsulated in Polycaprolactone Microparticles

Abstract

Introduction. Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that has been widely used in veterinary medicine. Parasitic diseases of farm animals cause great economic damage and pose the risk of human infection. Prolonged dosage forms of ivermectin are effective against them. The first step in the creation of such a drug was the preparation and study of polymeric microparticles of polycaprolactone with encapsulated ivermectin.Aim. Obtaining polymeric microparticles of polycaprolactone with encapsulated ivermectin using a continuous flow-through unit.Materials and methods. The object of the study was microparticles of polycaprolactone with encapsulated ivermectin obtained on a continuous flow-through unit. Determination of the average particle size and size distribution was carried out by the method of laser diffraction. Microscopy was used to visually assess the shape and size of the microparticles. UV – spectrophotometry was use to quantitative determination of ivermectin.Results and discussion. Polymeric microparticles of polycaprolactone with encapsulated ivermectin was obtained and had an average size of 126.63 ± 42.67 μm and contained 32,73–62,00 % of ivermectin. Suspensions prepared from the obtained microparticles were passed through a 20G injection needle without noticeable resistance, which indicates the possibility of their use as the basis of an injectable preparation.Conclusion. Obtained results confirm the possibility of using flow-through dispersion using a device developed by us for obtaining polycaprolactone microparticles with encapsulated ivermectin, which are suitable for injection. Thus, the results obtained make it possible to continue studies of microparticles and create a drug based on them.

Keywords

• ivermectin
• polycaprolactone
• microparticles
• microfluidic device
• prolonged-release drug
• injectable drug