LIQUISOLID TECHNIQUE FOR ENHANCEMENT OF DISSOLUTION PROPERTIES OF FENOFIBRATE

The in vitro dissolution property of slightly water soluble Fenofibrate (FN) was improved by exploring the potential of Liquisolid system (LS). The in vitro release pattern of LS compacts and directly compressed tablets were studied using USP-II apparatus. Different 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 102, Aerosil 200 and Explotab were employed as carrier, coating material and disintegrants respectively for preparing LS compacts. The prepared LS compacts were evaluated for their flow properties such as bulk density, tapped density, angle of repose, Carr's compressibility index and Hausner's ratio. The interaction between drug and excipients in prepared LS compacts were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). The drug release rates of LS compacts were distinctly higher as compared to directly compressed tablets, which show significant benefit of LS in increasing wetting properties and surface area of drug available for dissolution. The LS-1 of LS powder system showed acceptable flowability, Carr's compressibility index and Hausner's ratio. The DSC and XRD studies conforms the no significant interaction between the drug and excipients used in LS compacts. From this study it concludes that the LS technique is a promising alternative for improvement of dissolution property of water-insoluble drugs.