Design and Evaluation of a Microparticulate System of a Model Drug Glimepiride

This study aimed to develop and optimize glimepiride microparticles (GM) using the solvent evaporation technique, employing polymers like ethyl cellulose, Eudragit RL100, and RS100 in various ratios. The optimized GM formulation (F2) demonstrated a mean particle size of 1.75 μm, a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.59, and a zeta potential of 1.396 mV. In vitro drug release studies revealed that formulation F2 achieved 83.26% drug release over 8 h. FTIR analysis confirmed no significant interaction between the drug and excipients, while DSC and XRD analyses indicated an amorphous nature of the GM. SEM analysis showed a smooth and spherical particle surface. In vivo studies on a zebrafish model demonstrated that GM exhibited a significant antidiabetic effect with no observable toxicity, suggesting that GM is a promising candidate for enhancing the oral bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy of Glimepiride.