Optimized Preparation and Characteristics Analysis of Konjac Glucomannan/Gelatin Capsule Wall

Hard konjac glucomannan/gelatin capsule wall was prepared by using konjac glucomannan and gelatin. The optimum preparation conditions were explored according to wall-forming in this paper. Box Behnken Design (BBD) based on the single factor experiments such as the ratio of KGM and gelatin, concentration of glycerin, pH and dipping temperature was employed to optimize the preparation technology. The optimized conditions were as follows:ratio of KGM and gelatin 1.25, concentration of glycerin 4.88% and pH10.1. Under these conditions, the experimental capsule wall forming was (10.66±0.05). No hole on the surface of the capsule was confirmed by SEM. Release studies on optimized konjac glucomannan/gelatin capsule in the simulated gastric fluid showed a percent drug release of 95.5%±5.3% after 1 h of incubation. The optimized capsule showed disintegration time of (106.2±5.3) min, the crisp degree of the capsule 0, the dry weight loss 13.5%+0.0, the burning residue 0.7%+0.0. All these results indicated that konjac glucomannan/gelatin capsule wall could be a potential material for gastroretentive drug delivery.