Table 1.
Parameters and conditions tested in the development and optimization of the method.
| 1-Homogenization Technique 1 | N° Formulation | Emulsion Observed | EE (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultrasonic Processor One-time addition, 130 watts, 20 kHertz, 3 mm Ti probe |
Sonication Time | 30 min | 1 | No | NA |
| 45 min | 2 | No | NA | ||
| High Speed Homogenizer 10,000 rpm, 10 min |
Mixing phases speed | Slow | 3 | Yes | 46 |
| Medium | 4 | Yes | 98 | ||
| Fast | 5 | Yes | 30 | ||
| 2-Optimization of homogenization technique 1 | Emulsion observed | EE (%) | |||
| High speed homogenizer, mixing phases at medium speed, 10 min | Homogenization speed | 12,000 rpm | 6 | Yes | 92 |
| 16,000 rpm | 7 | Yes | 98 | ||
| 3-Lipid, drug loading, lipid-drug ratio, and organic solvent | Emulsion observed | EE (%) | |||
| Type of lipid | 24:1 lipid:drug ratio | Cocoa butter | 8 | Yes | 71 |
| Cetyl Palmitate | 9 | Yes | 54 | ||
| Stearic acid | 10 | Yes | 81 | ||
| Cholesterol: Cetyl Palmitate 1:1 | 11 | Yes | 47 | ||
| Drug loading | mg of CUR | 7.5 | 12 | Yes | 87 |
| 10 | 13 | Yes | 62 | ||
| 15 | 14 | No | NA | ||
| Lipid-drug ratio | Chol:CUR | 12:1 | 15 | Yes | 75 |
| 48:1 | 16 | Yes | 70 | ||
| Organic solvent | 1:1 solvent mixture | CH2Cl2:MeOH | 17 | Yes | 37 |
| CH3Cl3:EtOH | 18 | Yes | 8 | ||
| 4-Surfactant selection and polymer concentration | Emulsion observed | EE (%) | |||
| Surfactant selection | 1% surfactant concentration | Tween 80 | 19 | No | NA |
| Span 80 | 20 | No | NA | ||
| Polymer concentration | mg/mL of Pluronic F-127 | 2 | 21 | Yes | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Yes | 16 | ||
NA: Non-applicable; 1 Starting composition: aqueous phase containing 5 mg/mL of Pluronic F-127 in acetic acid 0.1% and Tween 80: Span80 1:1 4% and organic phase containing a CUR-lipid ratio of 1:24 in a 1:1 mixture of MeOH: CHCl3.