Mucoadhesive Buccal Films of Glibenclamide: Development and Evaluation

Background: Glibenclamide is an oral hypoglycemic drug completely metabolized in the liver, the principal metabolite being very weakly active, buccal delivery may be useful for the treatment of diabetes more effectively. The aim of the present study was to design formulations and systematically evaluate in vitro and ex vivo performances of buccal fi lms of glibenclamide so that the required therapeutic plasma concentrations can possibly be achieved more rapidly using the different grades of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) as the base matrix. Materials and Methods: Mucoadhesive buccal fi lms of glibenclamide were prepared by solvent casting technique using different grades of HPMC with different ratios. Prepared fi lms were evaluated for weight, thickness, surface pH, swelling index (SI), folding endurance, drug content uniformity, in vitro release, and ex vivo permeation studies. Results: The fi lm thickness and weight were in the range of 0.213–0.4892mm and 22.25–39.83 mg, respectively. The fi lms exhibited controlled release over more than 6 h. HPMC, HPMCK100, and HPMC3000 fi lms exhibited satisfactory swelling. Surface pH of buccal fi lms was found to be 6.4–6.8. SI observed to be highest for GF12 (275.3 ± 12.17) and lowest for GF1 (173.5 ± 5.65). The fi lms exhibited controlled release over more than 6 h. HPMC exhibited satisfactory swelling, an optimum residence time, and promising drug release. The Higuchi plots were found to be linear with correlation coeffi cient values of 0.8933, 0.9138, and 0.9947 for GF4, GF8, and GF9, respectively. Conclusions: Among all the formulations, GF9 shows good controlled release results correlated with ex vivo permeation studies