Release of Ibuprofen from Polyethylene glycol solid dispersions:-Equilibrium solubility approach

Abstract

This work is an attempt to enhance the release of Ibuprofen by improving its aqueous solubility. This was done by dispersing the drug in a water soluble carrier such as polyethylene glycol (PEG). The solubility was found to depend on various factors such as method of preparation, carrier weight fraction and molecular weight and the pH of the medium. It was found that dispersions prepared by the fusion method gave higher solubilities than those prepared by the solvent technique. The solubility was found to vary with carrier molecular weight and its weight fraction. Decreasing the PEG molecular weight resulted in increased solubility. A polymer to drug ratio of 1:1 was found to give the highest solubility. The solubility decreased as the polymer weight fraciton was increased beyond this value. The solubility of the solid dispersion was found to be pH dependent. A greater solubility was obtained at higher pHs than at lower ones. This was attributed to the weakly acidic nature of Ibuprofen. Calculation of the heat of solution of the various systems studied showed that the non dispersed drug had a higher heat of solution than the dispersed systems. This was thought to be the cause of the higher solubility of the dispersions as compared to the original drug.