Development of Buccal Mucoadhesive Film for Rapid Delivery of Naratriptan

Objective: To prepare matrix-type buccal therapeutic systems of naratriptan using various polymers as matrix formers. Formulated buccal films were characterized for physicochemical properties. Methods: Naratriptan mucoadhesive buccal films were developed by using solvent casting method (evaluation parameters are film uniformity and thickness, weight variation, moisture content, folding endurance) and by direct milling method (drug content uniformity, swelling behavior, in vitro release studies, stability studies). Results: Results revealed that prepared patches showed good physical characteristics, no drug-polymer interaction was observed. The in vitro release study revealed that F1 formulation showed maximum release of 94.62% in 8 h. The absorption maxima of naratriptan is at 275 nm. The predominant release mechanism of drug through the fabricated matrices was believed to be by diffusion mechanism and the percentage drug release was found to be decreasing from 94.62% to 91.20%. Conclusion: Based upon the in vitro dissolution data the F1 formulation was concluded as optimized formulation.