Factorial Design-Based Development and Evaluation of Metformin Hydrochloride-Loaded Mucoadhesive Microspheres for Sustained Anti Hyperglycaemic and Anticancer Activity

The study developed and optimized Metformin Hydrochloride-loaded mucoadhesive microspheres using a factorial design to achieve sustained anti-hyperglycaemic and anticancer effects. Utilizing sodium alginate and chitosan, the microspheres showed high entrapment efficiency (88.7%), excellent mucoadhesion (93.8%), and sustained drug release over 12 hours. The release followed Higuchi diffusion-controlled non-Fickian behavior. The microspheres enhanced α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and demonstrated improved cytotoxicity with a lower IC₅₀ value against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Stability studies confirmed the formulation's physicochemical stability, indicating its potential as a sustained oral drug delivery system for combined therapeutic applications.