The purpose of this study was to design a 'Traveller Friendly Drug Delivery System' for PM-HCl. Conventional
promethazine (PM-HCl)
tablets are bitter, need to be taken 1 h before symptoms and water is also needed. Taste-masked granules were produced with
Eudragit E100 by extrusion, and analyzed with FTIR, DSC, and XRD.
Tablets formulated from granules by direct compression using Ac-Di-
Sol,
Polyplasdone-XL,
Primojel and ion-exchanger Tulsion339 and evaluated for mass uniformity, friability, tensile strength,
drug content uniformity, water absorption ratio, in-vitro and in-vivo disintegration time and in-vitro dissolution studies. The observed
drug-
polymer interactions and reduced crystallinity may be reasons for increased dissolution rates. The formulated
tablets were disintegrated within 15 s.
Tablets (25 mg PM-HCl) with Ac-Di-
Sol (4%) showed complete release within 1 min, while marketed conventional
tablets (
Phenergan; Rhone-Poulec) release 25% during the same period. A preliminary stability studies for the prepared
tablets carried at 30 +/- 2 degrees C/60 +/- 5% RH, and 40 +/- 2 degrees C/75 +/- 5%RH for 3 months showed no significant changes in the
tablets quality at 30 +/- 2 degrees C/60 +/- 5% RH. However, at 40 +/- 2 degrees C/75 +/- 5%RH marked increase in in-vitro disintegration time, tensile strength and decrease in friability and water absorption ratio was found. The present studies indicate the abilities of
Eudragit E 100 for taste masking and improving the dissolution profile of PM-HCl after complexation. In addition, by employing cost effective direct compression method, fast-dissolving
tablets of 400 mg total weight with an acceptable quality could be prepared.