DefinePK

Abstract

Background and Objective: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a progressive systemic autoimmune disorder that occurs more often in females than males, being primarily found in the elderly. The present study aimed to develop and observe the effect of intraarticular injection of nanoparticulate prednisolone (PD) in the treatment of the arthritic animal model. Materials and Methods: PD loaded chitosan (CS) nanoparticles were prepared by ionotropic external gelation technique followed by the development of intraarticular injection. The PD-CS nanoparticles were evaluated for yield, drug loading, encapsulation efficiency, particle size, zeta potential, surface morphology study Polydispersity Index (PDI), in vitro release study in simulated synovial fluid, drug loading and Encapsulation Efficiency (EE) and in vivo antiarthritic activity in the carrageenan-induced rabbit model. Results: The nanoparticles were formed with a higher production yield of more than 90% in all batches. The particle size was observed between 110-198 nm with desirable zeta potential and PDI indicating excellent stability of the nanosuspensions. EE was observed between 75.89-98.95% while drug loading of 19.25-39.18%. The surface morphological study revealed the spherical, smooth and free-flowing nature of the dried nanoparticles. Optimized formulation (NP6) for 32 hrs indicating potential use in arthritic conditions. Within 1 hr, intramuscular injection of nanoparticles showed nearly 80% oedema inhibition in Group III animals while conventional injection just showed 11% inhibition. Nearly 4 fold inhibition in oedema was observed in animals injected with nanoparticulate formulation compared to conventional injection. Conclusion: PD-CS nanoparticulate IA injection would be one of the best options for the treatment of arthritis.