The objective of the current study was to investigate the processability of Hot Melt Extrusion to formulate Ocular Inserts of Valacyclovir Hydrochloride and Evaluate its drug release in vitro and in vivo. Valacyclovir is the prodrug of Acyclovir, which is used in treatment of ocular keratitis and HSV infections. The bioavailability of the prodrug is better than the acyclovir and it is proved to permeate extensively through the corneal barrier. The polymer of choice was Klucel® Pharm MF and JF grades for the study. To optimize the formulation, different physical mixtures of the polymers and plasticizers (PEG 400 and Propylene glycol) were prepared. The physical mixture was extruded through co – rotating twin-screw Haake MiniLab ThermoFisher ® Scientific extruder. The obtained ocular inserts were cut into dimensions of 4mm×2mm×1mm to have suitable product instillation in the eye. Ocular inserts were evaluated for drug content, weight variation, uniformity of thickness and in vitro and in vivo drug release. The thermal characterization of ocular inserts was observed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Morphology of the ocular inserts was observed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The polymer interactions or incompatibilities was assessed using FTIR. Klucel ® Pharm MF exhibited desired results than Klucel ® Pharm JF and was easy to extrude to prepare ocular inserts. The ocular inserts were able to provide sustained drug release compared to eyedrop solution and then dissolve completely in 9 hours.
","abstract_html":"<p>The objective of the current study was to investigate the processability of Hot Melt Extrusion to formulate Ocular Inserts of Valacyclovir Hydrochloride and Evaluate its drug release in vitro and in vivo. Valacyclovir is the prodrug of Acyclovir, which is used in treatment of ocular keratitis and HSV infections. The bioavailability of the prodrug is better than the acyclovir and it is proved to permeate extensively through the corneal barrier. The polymer of choice was Klucel® Pharm MF and JF grades for the study. To optimize the formulation, different physical mixtures of the polymers and plasticizers (PEG 400 and Propylene glycol) were prepared. The physical mixture was extruded through co – rotating twin-screw Haake MiniLab ThermoFisher ® Scientific extruder. The obtained ocular inserts were cut into dimensions of 4mm×2mm×1mm to have suitable product instillation in the eye. Ocular inserts were evaluated for drug content, weight variation, uniformity of thickness and in vitro and in vivo drug release. The thermal characterization of ocular inserts was observed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Morphology of the ocular inserts was observed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The polymer interactions or incompatibilities was assessed using FTIR. Klucel ® Pharm MF exhibited desired results than Klucel ® Pharm JF and was easy to extrude to prepare ocular inserts. The ocular inserts were able to provide sustained drug release compared to eyedrop solution and then dissolve completely in 9 hours.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Shadambikar, Gauri"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.S. in Pharmaceutical Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Michael A. Repka","Eman Ashour","Soumyajit Majumdar"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:05:53Z","subjects":["Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/728","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Michael A. Repka","Eman Ashour","Soumyajit Majumdar"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Shadambikar, Gauri"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-08-28T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S. in Pharmaceutical Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/728"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The objective of the current study was to investigate the processability of Hot Melt Extrusion to formulate Ocular Inserts of Valacyclovir Hydrochloride and Evaluate its drug release in vitro and in vivo. Valacyclovir is the prodrug of Acyclovir, which is used in treatment of ocular keratitis and HSV infections. The bioavailability of the prodrug is better than the acyclovir and it is proved to permeate extensively through the corneal barrier. The polymer of choice was Klucel® Pharm MF and JF grades for the study. To optimize the formulation, different physical mixtures of the polymers and plasticizers (PEG 400 and Propylene glycol) were prepared. The physical mixture was extruded through co – rotating twin-screw Haake MiniLab ThermoFisher ® Scientific extruder. The obtained ocular inserts were cut into dimensions of 4mm×2mm×1mm to have suitable product instillation in the eye. Ocular inserts were evaluated for drug content, weight variation, uniformity of thickness and in vitro and in vivo drug release. The thermal characterization of ocular inserts was observed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Morphology of the ocular inserts was observed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The polymer interactions or incompatibilities was assessed using FTIR. Klucel ® Pharm MF exhibited desired results than Klucel ® Pharm JF and was easy to extrude to prepare ocular inserts. The ocular inserts were able to provide sustained drug release compared to eyedrop solution and then dissolve completely in 9 hours.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Preparation And Evaluation Of Valacyclovir Hydrochloride Ocular Inserts By Hot Melt Extrusion Technique"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Michael A. Repka","Eman Ashour","Soumyajit Majumdar"],"dc:creator":["Shadambikar, Gauri"],"dc:date.available":["2023-08-28T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The objective of the current study was to investigate the processability of Hot Melt Extrusion to formulate Ocular Inserts of Valacyclovir Hydrochloride and Evaluate its drug release in vitro and in vivo. Valacyclovir is the prodrug of Acyclovir, which is used in treatment of ocular keratitis and HSV infections. The bioavailability of the prodrug is better than the acyclovir and it is proved to permeate extensively through the corneal barrier. The polymer of choice was Klucel® Pharm MF and JF grades for the study. To optimize the formulation, different physical mixtures of the polymers and plasticizers (PEG 400 and Propylene glycol) were prepared. The physical mixture was extruded through co – rotating twin-screw Haake MiniLab ThermoFisher ® Scientific extruder. The obtained ocular inserts were cut into dimensions of 4mm×2mm×1mm to have suitable product instillation in the eye. Ocular inserts were evaluated for drug content, weight variation, uniformity of thickness and in vitro and in vivo drug release. The thermal characterization of ocular inserts was observed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Morphology of the ocular inserts was observed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The polymer interactions or incompatibilities was assessed using FTIR. Klucel ® Pharm MF exhibited desired results than Klucel ® Pharm JF and was easy to extrude to prepare ocular inserts. The ocular inserts were able to provide sustained drug release compared to eyedrop solution and then dissolve completely in 9 hours.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/728"],"dc:subject":["Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences"],"dc:title":["Preparation And Evaluation Of Valacyclovir Hydrochloride Ocular Inserts By Hot Melt Extrusion Technique"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S. in Pharmaceutical Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:05:53Z"}