Bioadhesive/mucoadhesive composition in a suspension or emulsion form that
delivers drugs to the target tissue in a sustained manner is formulated. A
composition, method of manufacture and its application in treatment of
mammalian tissue are disclosed. The composition includes a
bioadhesive/mucoadhesive polymer in an emulsion or suspension form along
with a treating agent. The treating agent could be as simple as water as
in the case of mucoadhesive moisturizing agent. The
bioadhesive/mucoadhesive polymer is a water dispersible high molecular
weight crosslinked polyacrylic acid copolymer with free carboxylic acid
groups further crosslinked with a combination mono, di and polyvalent
metal ions, cationic polymers and surfactants. Type of metal ion and their
concentration can be adjusted to get the desired bio/mucoadhesive
properties along with several physical properties that are important to
the formulation of dosage forms. The viscosity of the formulation can be
reduced substantially by crosslinking with metal ions or by incorporating
anions or cations in 0.01 to 5% to get low viscosity product with higher
polymer concentration, which is important in several dosage forms. The
concentration of the polymer ranges from 0.05 to 20.0 percent depending on
the crosslinking and the viscosity of the product.
