Pharmaceutical characterization and dissolution behavior of ibuprofen/Soluplus solvent cast films

Purpose: To characterize the physicochemical and dissolution properties of Soluplus®/ibupofen solid
dispersions prepared by solvent casting technique.

Methods: Soluplus® was used as a film-forming agent whereas ibuprofen served as a poorly soluble biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS) class II active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The solution casting of ethanolic Soluplus®/ibuprofen was carried out on a release liner and dried under a vacuum. The crystallinity of crushed films was examined using powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), while a USP Type II apparatus was used to determine their dissolution behaviour.

Results: Ibuprofen was uniformly distributed in an amorphous form into the cast films. The PXRD based confirmation of crystalline peaks’ absence revealed a significantly higher dissolution rate in alkaline and acid media when compared to the pure drug.

Conclusion: Soluplus® (polymeric dispersant)-based solvent casting is a simple and efficient technique to prepare highly water-soluble solid dispersions of ibuprofen. This film cast technique may be suitable for various applications where a film or powder form of a drug with enhanced solubility in different aqueous media is desired.

Download the full article as PDF here Pharmaceutical characterization and dissolution behavior of ibuprofen/Soluplus solvent cast films

Materials

Ibuprofen and Soluplus® were provided by BASF (Ludwigshafen Germany). Ethyl alcohol was purchased from Pharmco AAPER (Brookfield, CT, USA). Scotchpak™ Release Liner (code number: 1022) and Scotchpak™ Backing Beige Polyester Film (code number: 1109) were provided by 3M (Oakdale, MN, USA).

Ahmad Salawi, Jafrin Jobayer Sonju, Sami Nazzal, Ahmed Abu-Fayyad, Turki Al Hagbani, Mohammad M. Kamal, Md Sabir Alam, Pharmaceutical characterization and dissolution behavior of ibuprofen/Soluplus solvent cast films, http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v22i2.1