IIT Hyderabad Researchers Develop Controlled Release Oral Tablets For Kala Azar

Oral Tablets For Kala-Azar and other fungal diseases have been developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad. The scientists have developed the oral tablet by loading the drug on to gelatin nano-fabric. 

Amphotericin B is one of the potent antimycotic drugs used to cure invasive fungal infections and Leishmaniasis. However, Amphotericin B is costly, causes toxicity, and has poor bioavailability. The drug is usually administered through injection, which results in its uncontrolled release into the bloodstream. The newly developed controlled-release oral tablets were found to release the drug Amphotericin B in a sustained and controlled manner for ten days.

The study to develop Oral Tablets for Kala-Azar was led by Prof. Saptarshi Majumdar and Dr. Chandra Shekhar Sharma and co-authored by Dr. Anindita Laha, Ms. Mrunalini Gaydhane. It has been published in the Journal Nano-Structures and Nano-Objects

The team of researchers chose gelatine since it is non-toxic and biocompatible, besides being biodegradable. It is used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Amphotericin B was loaded on to gelatin and was then drawn out in the form of nanof

ibers through the process of Electrospinning. It involves the use of electric force to draw out charged threads of polymers into fibers with diameters in the order of hundred nanometres. To improve its structural consistency in aqueous conditions, saturated vapors of a chemical called glutaraldehyde were used.

The team of scientists that developed Oral Tablets for Kala-Azar has also found that the nano-fibrous oral tablet was stable over a wide range of pH. This means that the gastrointestinal juices and acids would not destroy the tablet. This will help in better absorption of the drug in the Blood Stream.

Researchers said that nanofibres are a hundred thousand times thinner than the human hair. They are increasingly being considered as a medium for controlled release of drug molecules because of their large surface area and porosity.

Author: Rahul Mishra