Abstract:
One of the approaches for enhancing dissolution of poorly soluble drugs is to
formulate them as liquisolid compact. Liquisolid compacts are compactable powdered
forms of liquid medications. This investigation was aimed to improve the dissolution
rate of the poorly soluble drug Lovastatin, by delivering as a liquisolid compact.
Different liquisolid (LS) compacts were prepared using a mathematical model to
calculate the required quantities of powder and liquid ingredients to produce
acceptably flowable and compressible admixture. Avicel PH 200, Cab-O-Sil, Sodium
starch glycolate and PEG 400 were employed as carrier, coating material, disintegrant
and non-volatile liquid vehicle respectively for preparing LS compacts. The various
drug to liquid and carrier to coating ratio were used to prepare liquisolid compacts.
The formulated liquisolid tablets were evaluated parameters such as weight variation,
hardness, drug content, percentage friability and disintegration time. The in-vitro
release characteristics of the drug from tablets formulated by direct compression and
liquisolid technique, were compared in two different dissolution media. FTIR study
was carried out to determine drug-excipient interaction and the crystallinity of the
drug. The tabletting properties of the liquisolid compacts were within the acceptable
limits and drug release rates of all prepared LS compacts were distinctly higher as
compared to directly compressed tablets in different dissolution media. The FTIR
spectra showed no interaction between drug-excipient and disappearance of the
characteristic absorption band of lovastatin in liquisolid formulations which could be
attributed to the formation of hydrogen bonding between the drug and liquid vehicle,
which resulted in drug dissolution enhancement. Thus, the liquisolid technique was
found to be a promising approach for improving the dissolution of a poorly soluble
drug like Lovastatin.