A.B. Velhal

There are various techniques to control the release rate of the drugs, among which controlling dissolution rate is most popular due to its success and low cost. The use of sustained release dosage forms is increasing in treatment of acute and chronic diseases as they maintain the concentration of drug in plasma above minimum effective concentration and below the minimum toxic level for extended period of time. Thus, sustained drug delivery results in optimum drug therapy with reduced frequency of dosing and side effects. The objectives of the present investigation were to prepare granules of aceclofenac with different polymers and polymer blends by solid dispersion technique and investigate the different tablet evaluation parameters. Solid dispersions were prepared by solvent evaporation technique by using different polymers (Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose - K4M, Ethyl cellulose, and Eudragit RS-100).Solid state and drug polymer interactions were studied by Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy, Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction. The pharmaceutical performance was studied by in-vitro dissolution experiments.  Studies for the kinetics of the drug release from tablets showed a good fit to zero order kinetics indicating better controlled release of the drug. Significant effect was observed with polymer, concentration of polymer mixture on similarity factor. In stability study there was no significant change in the tablet properties after exposure to 40 ± 2 0C and 75 ± 5% RH for a period of 3 months.