title: Artemisia arborescens L essential oil loaded beads: preparation and characterization.
abstract: The purpose of this work was to prepare sodium alginate beads as a device for the controlled release of essential oil for oral administration as an antiviral agent. Different formulations were prepared with sodium alginate as a natural polymer and calcium chloride or glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent. Loading capacities of between 86% and 100% were obtained in freshly prepared beads by changing exposure time to the cross-linking agent. Drying of the calcium alginate beads caused only a slight decrease in the loading efficiency. The surface morphology of the different bead formulations were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Stability studies over a 3-month period showed that glutaraldehyde reacted with some components of Artemisia arborescens L essential oil, changing its composition. Calcium alginate beads showed an in vitro controlled release of the essential oil for the investigated 24 hours, while the use of glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent was found not appropriate because of the interactions with azulene derivatives and the low degree of matrix cross-linkage.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Farmaco Chimico Tecnologico, Università di Cagliari, Via Ospedale 72, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Loy
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manconi
authors.forename: Maria Letizia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Manca
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fadda
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019306:Artemisia; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D020723:Glucuronic Acid