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. 2020 Sep 10;12(9):859. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12090859

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Schematic representation of the preparation method and the application of lyophilized wafers for the local delivery of econazole nitrate in the treatment of oral candidiasis: Low-methyl-ester-amidated pectin (LMAP) is able to gel upon contact with saliva ions, while carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) ensures mucoadhesive properties. In the attempt to optimize the formulation, a DoE (Design of Experiments) approach was used to individuate the factors whose variation could influence the wafer performance in terms of mucoadhesive strength (response Y1), % drug released at 10 min (response Y2) and in situ residence time (response Y3). In a screening design, the authors selected LMAP amidation degree, LMAP and CMC concentrations as the critical independent variables. The variation of LMAP amidation degree (A1–A2) did not influence any of the considered response, while an increase in both LMAP (B1–B4) and CMC (C1–C4) concentrations significantly increased the responses Y1 and Y3. A central composite design was then considered with the aim of optimizing the formulation (Adapted with permission from [77], ELSEVIER, 2015).