The influence of different plasticizers and polymers on the mechanical and thermal properties, porosity and drug permeability of free shellac films.

The effect of triethyl citrate (TEC) and different molecular weights and concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG), in addition to the effect of different water-soluble polymers and dispersions at different levels, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), methylcellulose (MC), carbomer 940, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), ethyl cellulose (EC), on the mechanical and thermal properties, drug permeability, and porosity of free shellac films were investigated. Shellac films were cast from aqueous solutions, and their mechanical properties were studied by tensile test. Thermal analyses were performed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that the addition of plasticizer caused a decrease in both elastic modulus and glass transition temperature (T(g)) and an increase in elongation at break of free shellac films. This effect was related to the concentrations of plasticizers. Different molecular weights of PEGs have different plasticization mechanisms.Moreover, the incorporation of different amounts of HPMC, MC, or carbomer in free shellac films caused an increase in the flexibility, decrease in T(g), and a marked increase in drug permeability of free shellac films, whereas the addition of PVA caused a decrease in flexibility and drug permeability and an increase in T(g). Addition of EC resulted in a slight decrease of the elasticity and a small decrease in drug permeability. However it does not show a considerable effect on the T(g). In addition, it was found that the drug permeability is directly related to the mechanical properties and T(g) of shellac films.