Preparation and Characterization of Sugar Cane Wax Microspheres Containing Indomethacin

Purpose: To formulate and characterize indomethacin (IM) microspheres prepared with sugar cane wax microsperes. Methods: Microspheres were prepared by melt-emulsified dispersion and cooling-induced solidification method. The microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differntial scanning calorimetry (DSC) as well as for drug loading, and in vitro and in vivo release in albino sheeps. Results: SEM images showed that the microspheres were spherical in shape and more than 98.0 % of the isolated microspheres were in the size range 345 - 360 μm. The Cmax, Tmax, AUCO - 24 and T1/2 values were 2123 ± 30 ng/ml, 3.1 h, 9734 ± 126 ng/ml h^−1, and 2.68 ± 0.03 h^−1 for the reference product, Microcid® SR, and 1989 ± 26 ng/ml, 3.0 h, 8013 ± 79 ng/ml h^−1, and 2.79 ± 0.12 h^−1, respectively, for the test formulation. Conclusion: Based on this study, it can be concluded that the developed indomethacin-loaded wax microsheres and Microcid® SR capsule are bioequivalent in terms of rate and extent of absorption.