OSMOTICALLY REGULATED FLOATING CAPSULE FOR CONTROLLED DELIVERY OF ACYCLOVIR: A WATER-SOLUBLE DRUG

Abstract

Acyclovir is a guanine analogue used in the treatment of Herpes Simplex Virus(HSV). The aim of the present study wa s to develop a
hydrodynamically balanced system of Acyclovir as single unit floating capsule. This system can remain in stomach for longer period and hence can
release the drug over a prolonged period of time. The capsules were cross linked with vapours of Formaldehyde for 24 hours. The formulation was
prepared by physically blending method using Acyclovir and osmogent in different ratios. FTIR spectroscopic studies indicated that there were no
drug-excipients interaction. Prepared floating capsules were evaluated for floating lag time, total floating time and in vitro drug release. As observed
the % drug release was increased by increasing in pore size and concentration of osmogent. The optimization was done using 3 factors – 2 level full
factorial design. The independent variables were pore size and ratio of osmogent and the response variables were % drug release at 5 hours and 12
hours respectively. The experimental result of optimized batch of floating osmotic capsule demonstrated that % drug release at 5 hours and 12 hours
were 40.506and 96.795 respectively. The improved characteristic of selected floating capsule makes them excellent candidates for gastric targeting.