Automated Determination of Dissolution Rate: II. Factors Influencing Variability

The effect of factors influencing variability on the dissolution pattern of tablets in an automated dissolution apparatus has been studied. Tablets were prepared by individually weighing 200 mg of the drug particles having a narrow size distribution, or the formulation blend containing 200 mg of the drug. The tablets were pressed using a hydraulic press and employing identical compression force for the same time period for each tablet. The results showed that the inter-tablet range values obtained in each formulation were not significantly different from each other and the dissolution profiles exhibited portions indicating sudden increase in the dissolution rates. It is shown that the variability observed may have been due to the possible suction of the dissolving drug particles. The use of a fritted-glass filter tip at the inlet end of the sampling tube reduced the variability significantly producing more reproducible dissolution curves.     

Automated Determination of Dissolution Rate: II. Factors Influencing Variability

Abstract

The effect of factors influencing variability on the dissolution pattern of tablets in an automated dissolution apparatus has been studied. Tablets were prepared by individually weighing 200 mg of the drug particles having a narrow size distribution, or the formulation blend containing 200 mg of the drug. The tablets were pressed using a hydraulic press and employing identical compression force for the same time period for each tablet. The results showed that the inter-tablet range values obtained in each formulation were not significantly different from each other and the dissolution profiles exhibited portions indicating sudden increase in the dissolution rates. It is shown that the variability observed may have been due to the possible suction of the dissolving drug particles. The use of a fritted-glass filter tip at the inlet end of the sampling tube reduced the variability significantly producing more reproducible dissolution curves.     

Characterization of excipient and tableting factors that influence folic acid dissolution, friability, and breaking strength of oil- and water-soluble multivitamin with minerals tablets

The goal of this study is to characterize the formulation and processing factors that influence folic acid dissolution from oil- and water-soluble multivitamin with minerals tablet formulations for direct compression. The following parameters were studied: bulk filler solubility, soluble to insoluble bulk filler ratio, triturating agent (preblending carrier) solubility, disintegrant usage, compression pressure, and folic acid particle size. Folic acid particle size was determined by using light microscopy, and surface area was measured by using BET adsorption. The tablets were compressed on an instrumented Stokes B2 tablet press, and the friability, weight variation, and dissolution were measured according to USP methods, along with tablet breaking strength. In summary, we found the following factors to be critical to folic acid dissolution: bulk filler solubility (soluble fillers, such as maltose, increase folic acid dissolution); disintegrant amount (levels less than 0.4% (w/w) are ineffectual, whereas levels greater than 1.2% (w/w) did not further increase dissolution); and compression force (generally, maltose produce harder tablets). In addition, folic acid dissolution was less affected by changes in compaction pressure when a “super” disintegrant and maltose, as a bulk filler, were used. It was determined that the trituration agent did not play a significant role in folic acid dissolution. In the range of parameters studied, statistical analysis found no significant interactions between the parameters studied, which means they act independently in an additive manner. The results also show that no one factor is completely responsible for dissolution failure. Thus, it is the combination of formulation factors and processing conditions that collectively add up to produce dissolution failure; however, the use of a disintegrant and a soluble filler such as maltose can make a formulation more robust to the inevitable changes that can occur during commercial production.     

Production and in vitro characterization of solid dosage form incorporating drug nanoparticles

The objective of this study was to develop a tablet formulation of ketoconazole incorporating drug nanoparticles to enhance saturation solubility and dissolution velocity for enhancing bioavailability and reducing variability in systemic exposure. The bioavailability of ketoconazole is dissolution limited following oral administration. To enhance bioavailability and overcome variability in systemic exposure, a nanoparticle formulation of ketoconazole was developed. Ketoconazole nanoparticles were prepared using a media-milling technique. The nanosuspension was layered onto water-soluble carriers using a fluid bed processor. The nanosuspensions were characterized for particle size before and after layering onto water-soluble carriers. The saturation solubility and dissolution characteristics were investigated and compared with commercial ketoconazole formulation to ascertain the impact of particle size on drug dissolution. The drug nanoparticles were evaluated for solid-state transitions before and after milling using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). This study demonstrated that tablet formulation incorporating ketoconazole nanoparticles showed significantly faster rate of drug dissolution in a discriminating dissolution medium as compared with commercially available tablet formulation. There was no affect on solid-state properties of ketoconazole following milling. The manufacturing process used is relatively simple and scalable indicating general applicability to enhance dissolution and bioavailability of many sparingly soluble compounds.     

Production and In Vitro Characterization of Solid Dosage form Incorporating Drug Nanoparticles

The objective of this study was to develop a tablet formulation of ketoconazole incorporating drug nanoparticles to enhance saturation solubility and dissolution velocity for enhancing bioavailability and reducing variability in systemic exposure. The bioavailability of ketoconazole is dissolution limited following oral administration. To enhance bioavailability and overcome variability in systemic exposure, a nanoparticle formulation of ketoconazole was developed. Ketoconazole nanoparticles were prepared using a media-milling technique. The nanosuspension was layered onto water-soluble carriers using a fluid bed processor. The nanosuspensions were characterized for particle size before and after layering onto water-soluble carriers. The saturation solubility and dissolution characteristics were investigated and compared with commercial ketoconazole formulation to ascertain the impact of particle size on drug dissolution. The drug nanoparticles were evaluated for solid-state transitions before and after milling using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). This study demonstrated that tablet formulation incorporating ketoconazole nanoparticles showed significantly faster rate of drug dissolution in a discriminating dissolution medium as compared with commercially available tablet formulation. There was no affect on solid-state properties of ketoconazole following milling. The manufacturing process used is relatively simple and scalable indicating general applicability to enhance dissolution and bioavailability of many sparingly soluble compounds.     

Development and evaluation of glyburide fast dissolving tablets using solid dispersion technique

Glyburide is a poorly water-soluble oral hypoglycemic agent, with problems of variable bioavailability and bio-inequivalence related to its poor water-solubility. This work investigated the possibility of developing glyburide tablets, allowing fast, reproducible, and complete drug dissolution, by using drug solid dispersion in polyethylene glycol. Phase-solubility studies were performed to investigate the drug-carrier interactions in solution, whereas differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the solid state of solid dispersions. The effects of several variables related to both solid dispersion preparation (cofusion or coevaporation technique, drug-to-carrier ratio, polyethylene glycol molecular weight) and tablet production (direct compression or previous wet-granulation, tablet hardness, drug, and solid dispersion particle size) on drug dissolution behavior were investigated. Tablets obtained by direct compression, with a hardness of 7-9 Kp, and containing larger sized solid dispersions (20-35 mesh, i.e., 850-500 µm) of micronized glyburide in polyethylene glycol 6000 prepared by the cofusion method gave the best results, with a 135% increase in drug dissolution efficiency at 60 min in comparison with a reference tablet formulation containing the pure micronized drug. Moreover, the glyburide dissolution profile from the newly developed tablets was clearly better than those from various commercial tablets at the same drug dosage.     

Process Considerations in Reducing Tablet Friability and Their Effect on in vitro Dissolution

The tablet friability resulting from manufacturing process variations was studied for two differently sized tablets using the same formulation. Granulations containing lower moisture contents required higher compression and ejection forces to manufacture a tablet at a given hardness, although this did not influence friability. Increased tablet hardness (and to a lesser extent decreased tablet thickness) decreased the tablet friability of the larger tablet. An increase in the quantity of granulating fluid increased the granulation particle size and slightly improved compactibility without significantly affecting friability. Tablet dissolution increased as the quantity of granulating fluid was decreased. There was a strong interaction, with respect to dissolution, between moisture content and the amount of granulating fluid. Tablet hardness did not significantly influence dissolution. Doubling the quantity of magnesium stearate in the granulation in one tablet strength decreased the maximum tablet hardness that could be obtained, and for the other tablet strength increased friability. It also resulted in slower tablet dissolution.     

Mprovement in Pressure-Dependent Dissolution of Trepibutone Tablets by Using Intragranular Disintegrants

In developing compressed tablets trepibutone 40mg, dissolution studies indicated that the compression pressure applied exerted strong influence on drug dissolution from the tablets. It was found that the incorporation of disintegrants in the granular formulation prevented the decrease in dissolution rate of drug from tablets by compression. Instead of the intragranular disintegrants, incorporation of a rubber powder, which does not swell at all in water and has some elastic recoveries after compression, did not improve the drug dissolution from tablets. It was concluded that the addition of disintegrants in the granular formulation resulted in little prevention of the particle aggregation during compression. The swelling of disintegrant grains in water is considered to play an important part in the deaggregation of drug particles     

Role of Surfactant on Drug Release from Tablets

The addition of a surfactanat into a tablet formulation appears to be attractive method of improve the drug release rate. The improved release rate is often associated with the effect of surfactant increasing the hydrophilicity of the dosage form thereby promoting drug dissolution. The findings of this investigation showed tha the presence of surfactant infulenced the tablet disintegration rate, producing a finer dispersion of disintergrated particles. It follows that the action of surfactant improving drug dissolution from tablets may be attributed ot the aciton of surfactnat producing fine disintegrated particles with correspondingly larger surface area for drug dissolution. It was also demonstrated that upon tablet disintergration the disinstegrated particles have a tri-moal frequency distribution.     

Spray drying of a poorly water-soluble drug nanosuspension for tablet preparation: formulation and process optimization with bioavailability evaluation

Spray drying experiments of an itraconazole nanosuspension were conducted to generate a dry nanocrystal powder which was subsequently formulated into a tablet formulation for direct compression. The nanosuspension was prepared by high pressure homogenization and characterized for particle-size distribution and surface morphology. A central composite statistical design approach was applied to identify the optimal drug-to-excipient ratio and spray drying temperature. It was demonstrated that the spray drying of a nanosuspension with a mannitol-to-drug mass ratio of 4.5 and at an inlet temperature of 120?°C resulted in a dry powder with the smallest increase in particle size as compared with that of the nanosuspension. X-ray diffraction results indicated that the crystalline structure of the drug was not altered during the spray-drying process. The tablet formulation was identified by determining the micromeritic properties such as flowability and compressibility of the powder mixtures composed of the spray dried nanocrystal powder and other commonly used direct compression excipients. The dissolution rate of the nanocrystal tablets was significantly enhanced and was found to be comparable to that of the marketed Sporanox®. No statistically significant difference in oral absorption between the nanocrystal tablets and Sporanox® capsules was found. In conclusion, the nanosuspension approach is feasible to improve the oral absorption of a BCS Class II drug in a tablet formulation and capable of achieving oral bioavailability equivalent to other well established oral absorption enhancement method.     

Role of Surfactant on Drug Release from Tablets

Abstract

The addition of a surfactanat into a tablet formulation appears to be attractive method of improve the drug release rate. The improved release rate is often associated with the effect of surfactant increasing the hydrophilicity of the dosage form thereby promoting drug dissolution. The findings of this investigation showed tha the presence of surfactant infulenced the tablet disintegration rate, producing a finer dispersion of disintergrated particles. It follows that the action of surfactant improving drug dissolution from tablets may be attributed ot the aciton of surfactnat producing fine disintegrated particles with correspondingly larger surface area for drug dissolution. It was also demonstrated that upon tablet disintergration the disinstegrated particles have a tri-moal frequency distribution.     

Dissolution performance related to particle size distribution for cohpiercially available prednisolone acetate suspensions

Dissolution performance for three commercially available parenteral prednisolone acetate suspensions was analyzed using a diffusion based model. Physicochemical properties of the drug and particle size characteristics of the formulation were included in the model as important determinants of dissolution performance.

The model describes the dissolution profile for each formulation with a single characteristic value, the dissolution rate constant. For Products I and II with similar particle size characteristics, the model sufficiently describes the dissolution profile for each formulation but does not provide conclusive evidence about reasons for differences in dissolution performance between the two products. For Product III, the model sufficiently describes the dissolution profile and adequately includes the effect of a bimodal distribution of larger drug particles .

This approach to the analysis of dissolution data for suspension formulations is suggested as being useful during the formulation process to provide for predetermined dissolution characteristics, as an evaluative tool in quality assurance, assurance, and for correlating in-vivo and in-vitro product performance.     

Effects of manufacturing process variables on in vitro dissolution characteristics of extended-release tablets formulated with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of three process variables: distribution of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) within the tablet matrix, amount of water for granulation, and tablet hardness on drug release from the hydrophilic matrix tablets. Tablets were made both by direct compression as well as wet granulation method. Three formulations were made by wet granulation, all three having the exact same composition but differing in intragranular:intergranular HPMC distribution in the matrix. Further, each formulation was made using two different amounts of water for granulation. All tablets were then compressed at two hardness levels. Dissolution studies were performed on all tablets using USP dissolution apparatus I (basket). The dissolution parameters obtained were statistically analyzed using a multilevel factorial-design approach to study the influence of the various process variables on drug release from the tablets. Results indicated that a change in the manufacturing process could yield significantly dissimilar dissolution profiles for the same formulation, especially at low-hardness level. Overgranulation could lead to tablets showing hardness-dependent drug-release characteristics. Studies showed that intergranular addition of a partial amount of HPMC (i.e., HPMC addition outside of granules) provided a significant advantage in making the formulation more robust over intragranular addition (i.e., that in which the entire amount of HPMC was added to the granules). Dissolution profiles obtained for these tablets were relatively less dependent on tablet hardness irrespective of the amount of water added during granulation.     

Effects of Particle Size of Bulk Drug and food on the Bioavailability of U-78875 in Dogs

The effects of particle size and food on the absolute bioavailability of U-78875 in dogs after oral administration of either a suspension or tablet dosage form were investigated. A reduction of particle size caused a significant increase in bioavailability along with an increase in dissolution rate. Additionally, both suspension and tablet dosage forms administered after food caused an increase in bioavailability. Thus, to accelerate drug dissolution, a reduction of U-78875 particle size from the unmilled state is important for the optimization of formulation compositions. To increase the bioavailability of U-78875, postprandial dosing should be considered.     

Dissolution performance related to particle size distribution for cohpiercially available prednisolone acetate suspensions

Abstract

Dissolution performance for three commercially available parenteral prednisolone acetate suspensions was analyzed using a diffusion based model. Physicochemical properties of the drug and particle size characteristics of the formulation were included in the model as important determinants of dissolution performance.

The model describes the dissolution profile for each formulation with a single characteristic value, the dissolution rate constant. For Products I and II with similar particle size characteristics, the model sufficiently describes the dissolution profile for each formulation but does not provide conclusive evidence about reasons for differences in dissolution performance between the two products. For Product III, the model sufficiently describes the dissolution profile and adequately includes the effect of a bimodal distribution of larger drug particles.

This approach to the analysis of dissolution data for suspension formulations is suggested as being useful during the formulation process to provide for predetermined dissolution characteristics, as an evaluative tool in quality assurance, assurance, and for correlating in-vivo and in-vitro product performance.     

Optimization of Tablet Formulations Containing

An optimized direct compression tablet formulation of a conventional theophylline tablet was developed using the technique of response surface methodology and successive quadratic programming (SQP). The response surfaces were obtained from fitting data generated from a secondorder uniformprecision rotatable hexagonal experimental design. The tablet formulation was optimized for mean in vitro dissolution time using disintegration time, ejection force, friability and hardness, as constraints within the experimental region by the SQP technique. The response surface model was validated by preparing and evaluating the predicted formulation. The characteristics of the tablet formulation were analyzed by principal component analysis. Sensitivity analysis for the optimal solution was performed for each constraint, while all remaining constraints were held constant. The robustness of the response surface model was evaluated by simulation for error in the compression force values.     

Optimization of Tablet Formulations Containing

Abstract

An optimized direct compression tablet formulation of a conventional theophylline tablet was developed using the technique of response surface methodology and successive quadratic programming (SQP). The response surfaces were obtained from fitting data generated from a secondorder uniformprecision rotatable hexagonal experimental design. The tablet formulation was optimized for mean in vitro dissolution time using disintegration time, ejection force, friability and hardness, as constraints within the experimental region by the SQP technique. The response surface model was validated by preparing and evaluating the predicted formulation. The characteristics of the tablet formulation were analyzed by principal component analysis. Sensitivity analysis for the optimal solution was performed for each constraint, while all remaining constraints were held constant. The robustness of the response surface model was evaluated by simulation for error in the compression force values.     

Effects of Particle Size of Bulk Drug and food on the Bioavailability of U-78875 in Dogs

Abstract

The effects of particle size and food on the absolute bioavailability of U-78875 in dogs after oral administration of either a suspension or tablet dosage form were investigated. A reduction of particle size caused a significant increase in bioavailability along with an increase in dissolution rate. Additionally, both suspension and tablet dosage forms administered after food caused an increase in bioavailability. Thus, to accelerate drug dissolution, a reduction of U-78875 particle size from the unmilled state is important for the optimization of formulation compositions. To increase the bioavailability of U-78875, postprandial dosing should be considered.     

Influence of drug load on dissolution behavior of tablets containing a poorly water-soluble drug: estimation of the percolation threshold

Drug load plays an important role in the development of solid dosage forms, since it can significantly influence both processability and final product properties. The percolation threshold of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) corresponds to a critical concentration, above which an abrupt change in drug product characteristics can occur. The objective of this study was to identify the percolation threshold of a poorly water-soluble drug with regard to the dissolution behavior from immediate release tablets. The influence of the API particle size on the percolation threshold was also studied. Formulations with increasing drug loads were manufactured via roll compaction using constant process parameters and subsequent tableting. Drug dissolution was investigated in biorelevant medium. The percolation threshold was estimated via a model dependent and a model independent method based on the dissolution data. The intragranular concentration of mefenamic acid had a significant effect on granules and tablet characteristics, such as particle size distribution, compactibility and tablet disintegration. Increasing the intragranular drug concentration of the tablets resulted in lower dissolution rates. A percolation threshold of approximately 20% v/v could be determined for both particle sizes of the API above which an abrupt decrease of the dissolution rate occurred. However, the increasing drug load had a more pronounced effect on dissolution rate of tablets containing the micronized API, which can be attributed to the high agglomeration tendency of micronized substances during manufacturing steps, such as roll compaction and tableting. Both methods that were applied for the estimation of percolation threshold provided comparable values.     

Release of a Low Dose Water Soluble Medicinal Agent from Inert Wax Matrix Tablets

Directly compressible wax matrix tablets have been developed for a low dose medicinal agent (Chloropheniramine maleate). A mixture of castor wax NF and Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil NF, was optimized in the ratio of 50:50 as matrix based on their bulk density and particle size distribution and compression properties The compression properties indicated that the increase in compression forces resulted in a tablet of higher hardness up to 8 Kp. However further increase in compression forces resulted in the decrease in hardness and capping was apparent.

The result of dissolution studies indicated no significant effect of hardness and tablet shape (Round and rectangular shaped) on the dissolution properties of wax matrix tablets. A plot of percent drug released various square root of time exhibited a linear relationship. The release rates of CPM from wax matrix tablets were found to be independent of the rotational speed of paddles between 50-75 RPM. From these results, the release mechanism of CPM from wax matrix tablets appears to be primarily diffusion controlled rather than matrix erosion.