273FORMULATION AND IN-VITRO CHARACTERIZATION OF GLICLAZIDE LOADED POLYMERIC NANOPARTICLESNanoparticles (NP) are tiny materials that have specific physicochemical properties different to bulk materials of same composition and such properties make them very attractive for commercial and medical development. With an aim to achieve prolonged drug release, especially for the treatment of diabetes mellitus and thereby to reduce the side effects of conventional dosage form Gliclazide polymeric nanoparticles have been formulated. These nanoparticles have been developed by solvent evaporation and were subjected to various studies for characterization including Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). They were also subjected to Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) for compatibility analyses between drug and polymer. The selected formulation demonstrated favorable in-vitro prolonged release characteristics. The results of in-vitro release data were substituted with available mathematical models to establish the mechanism of drug release. In the present study, most of the hurdles present in the formulation procedure were surmounted and all the characteristics exhibited by the formulated nanoparticles are pharmaceutically useful. Hence, the designed system could possibly be advantageous in terms of prolonged release, to achieve reduce dose frequency and improve patient compliancedhanamum@yahoo.co.inResearch472013Nanoparticles,Gliclazide,Drug,Characterization,ReleaseMohideen B,Ezhilmuthu RP,Dhanalekshmi UM,Neelakanta Reddy PPadmavathi College of Pharmacy and Research Institute, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India.,Padmavathi College of Pharmacy and Research Institute, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India.,Bio Organic Lab, CSIR-CLRI, Chennai, India.,Bio Organic Lab, CSIR-CLRI, Chennai, India.