Polymer films made from hydrophilic polymers are often used as orodispersible films, which represent a patient-friendly pharmaceutical form. They are applied to the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and disperse after their contact with saliva, leading to a quick drug release and its absorption into the systemic bloodstream. Drugs with different physicochemical properties can be incorporated into polymer films and this can have a significant impact on the properties of the polymer films. The aim of the master's thesis was to evaluate the impact of four different drugs (ibuprofen, carvedilol, paracetamol, and metformin hydrochloride) on the properties of hydrophilic polymer films. Polymer films with 20% (w/w) drug content were prepared by the solvent evaporation method from an ethanol solution of a mixture of polyethylene oxide and poloxamer 188 in a mass ratio of 1:1. We found that dynamic viscosity of the polymer solutions with drug is lower than dynamic viscosity of the polymer solutions without drug. For all polymer solutions, we measured higher values of the plastic modulus than the value of the elastic modulus and low electrical conductivity. The exception was the polymer solution with metformin hydrochloride, which had high electrical conductivity. We found that the incorporation of the drug into polymer films significantly affects their surface morphology, as it can lead to wrinkling and the formation of cracks on the surface of the polymer film. No chemical interactions between the components of the polymer films were found. The moisture content in the produced polymer films after 24 hours at room temperature and 46% relative humidity was < 1% (m/m), which confirmed that the incorporated drugs do not affect the hygroscopicity of the polymer films. We proved that hydrophobic drugs (ibuprofen, carvedilol) decrease the hydrophilicity of the surface, while the effect of hydrophilic drugs (paracetamol, metformin hydrochloride) is unclear. The incorporated drugs did not affect the dispersibility of polymer films in phosphate buffer with 0,1% (m/V) Tween® 80 or in the water, while the dispersion time of polymer films in ethanol was significantly prolonged. By incorporating carvedilol into the polymer film, a faster release rate of carvedilol was achieved compared to dissolution of carvedilol from a physical mixture. The release rate of other drugs (ibuprofen, paracetamol, metformin hydrochloride) from the polymer films was similar to the dissolution rate of these drugs from the physical mixture.
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