European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

CONSTRAINED RELEASE MATRIX TABLETS WITH FELODIPINE: DESIGN AND IN VITRO ASSESSMENT

Sushmitha K. R. and K. S. Srilatha*

ABSTRACT

Felodipine is commonly used to lower high blood pressure (hypertension). Felodipine relaxes blood vessels so that blood can move through them more easily. This can help lower blood pressure and may reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke. Treatment of hypertension disease with conventional dosage forms is not effective as the drugs do not reach the site of action in appropriate concentration and it is also requiring dosing. Thus, an effective and safe therapy for hypertension disease using specific drug delivery system is a challenging task to the pharmaceutical technologists. Most used method of modulating the drug release is to include it in a matrix system, because of their flexibility, hydrophilic polymer matrix system is widely used in oral controlled drug delivery to obtain a desirable drug release profile, cost effectiveness and broad regulatory acceptance. The aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate controlled release matrix tablets of Felodipine. The tablets were prepared by direct compression method and by using different concentration of polymers. Six such formulations were made using HPMC and Carbopol as polymer. Compatibility of drug with various excipients was studied by FTIR spectroscopic studies. The preformulation studies showed good flow properties and compressibility index. The compressed tablets were evaluated for various parameters like hardness, weight variation, thickness, friability, uniformity of drug content and invitro drug release. Invitro release was carried out using USP type-2 at 50rpm in 900ml of phosphate buffer pH 6.8 for 8 hours. Drug release studies indicate that increase in concentration of polymer prolongs the release rate of drug from the results obtained, F4 was selected as best formulation based on physicochemical parameters and invitro drug release. The results indicated that the prepared sustain release matrix tablet of Felodipine could perform therapeutically better than conventional tablets with improved efficacy and better patient compliance.

Keywords: Felodipine, Matrix tablets Hypertension and Calcium channel blocker.