STUDIES ON COMPRESSION AND DRUG RELEASE CHARACTERISTICS OF XANTHIUM GUM PELLETS OF DIFFERENT COMPOSITIONS

Abstract

The filler used in preparation of pellets affects physical properties, compression and drug release rates. The present investigation was aimed to develop a sustained drug delivery system for a short half life drug, Simvastatin with a view to prolong the release with a sustained release mechanism. Simvastatin is an antilipidaemic agent. Characterization of drug was done by performing the determination of solubility, melting point and FTIR spectroscopy. The prepared batches of pellets were evaluated for micromeritic study such as particle size determination, true density, bulk density, degree of compression, specific surface area and angle of repose. All the batches of pellets were compressed into tablets and evaluated for general appearance, weight variation, hardness, content uniformity, and dissolution study. From the results of all these studies, batch F6 was found to show the best results containing Xanthan gum (16%) and Lactose monohydrates (8%) and selected as an optimized batch. The optimized batch was subjected for further studies such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to demonstrate pellets morphology and FTIR to determine the drug- polymer interaction. Optimized formulation was subjected to accelerated stability study for a period of 30 days at 40 ± 2⁰C and 75 ± 5 % RH. Formulation was subjected for thickness, hardness, drug content and in-vitro drug release studies at interval of 15 and 30 days.