Raman imaging investigation on PAA-clotrimazole system

The dispersion of clotrimazole in the polyacrylic acid (PAA) matrix and the possible interaction between the drug and polymeric matrix were investigated by Raman imaging spectroscopy. The optical analysis shows an inhomogeneous distribution of the clotrimazole in the polymeric matrix. An area of 10x10 [micro]m of the sample was scanned and a spectral image map of the most important bands was constructed. The imaging spectral map was constructed observing the intensity of the characteristic band 1045 [cm.sub.-1] of clotrimazole respectively 1450 [cm.sub.-1] of PAA, recorded for each point of the scanned area. The spectrum of the clotrimazole in the PAA matrix is essentially identical to the spectrum of pure clotrimazole. This indicates non interaction between polymeric matrix and clotrimazole. Keywords: PAA, clotrimazole, Raman spectroscopy