Development of chitosan microparticles for controlled release of metoprolol tartarate

Hypertension, defined as high blood pressure, is a common medical condition leading to cardiovascular disability andpremature deaths. Blood pressure control in an efficient way are assumed to the main targets to prevent hypertension.Since conventional dosage forms (e.g. immediate release tablets, capsules, etc.) show some limitation, greater attentionis being paid on designing the modified drug release systems. Modified release is defined as drug releasing from dosageform some time after the administration or in prolonged period of time. In this study, we aimed to design metoprololtartarate loaded chitosan microparticles to obtained modified drug release. Chitosan microparticles produced via ionicgelation with tripolyphosphate as a crosslinking agent. Prepared formulations were characterized and metoprololtartarate was loaded into the optimal blank microspheres. The entrapment efficiency, drug loading, cell viability assayand in vitro drug release were investigated. Optimum formulation was spherical and had 81% of yield and75.373±7.384?m particle size. 16 mg of metoprolol tartarate could be loaded into microparticles and drug release couldbe maintained for 48 hours.