Preparation of dopamine-loaded microbeads for antioxidant activity and controlled drug release

Abstract

Present study involved the creation of microbeads loaded with dopamine, which were utilized as carriers for antioxidants, exhibiting regulated drug release characteristics. Synthesis of microbeads was achieved using a straightforward, yet efficient technique that entailed the crosslinking of dopamine and integration of antioxidants into the polymer matrix. To attain the desired swelling index and drug-loading efficiency, the formulation parameters were optimized. Encapsulation efficiency of the developed DP-bead was found to be 94 ± 1.2% and the swelling index was (155 ± 1.4%) (trial 2). Regulated release of dopamine from the microbeads were found to be 94 ± 0.3% and 47 ± 1.7% from in vitro drug release tests conducted under physiological (pH 7.4) and acidic conditions (pH 1.2), respectively. Antioxidant activity of the developed DP-bead was found to be 78.21%, which indicates the free radical elimination done by dopamine. Thereby, the developed DP-bead could be a promising antioxidative and controlled release application.

The fabrication of microbeads was achieved using emulsion encapsulation techniques. Through the process of crosslinking dopamine with a calcium chloride and sodium alginate as polymeric matrix was optimised. The synthesized microbeads loaded with dopamine was employed for delivering antioxidants, these nanobeads tested to demonstrated controlled drug release properties.