FORMULATION & EVALUATION OF ITOPRIDE HCL SUSTAINED RELEASE PELLETS P

The present work is aimed to formulate Itopride HCl sustained release pellets using ethyl cellulose N50 such as hydrophobic polymer by employing the solution/suspension layer technique. The drug excipients compatibility study was carried out by Furor Transform Infrared spectroscopy ( FTIR) which reveals no interaction between drug and excipients. Total 12 batches were formulated. Six formulations were prepared by using each natural polymer like ethyl cellulose N50. All the formulations were evaluated for micromeritic properties, physical evaluation, which includes particle size analysis, percentage yield, drug content, drug entrapment efficacy, percent moisture loss and swelling index, in vitro dissolution studies, scanning electron microscopy, and drug polymer interaction studies. The formulated pellets were evaluated for various pellet properties, like hardness, bulk density, tapped density, cars index and dissolution rate. Comparative evaluation of the above mentioned parameters established the superiority of the pellets formulated with Ethyl cellulose those formulated with different grades. The Optimized batch F3 was found to release the drug for 12 h (96.46%) and follows Higuchi Matrix model in dissolution studies, indicating the matrix-forming potential of natural polymer and diffusion controlled release mechanism.