PULSATILE RELEASE OF KETOPROFEN FROM COMPRESSION COATED TABLETS USING EUDRAGIT® POLYMERS

Objective: The objective of the present research work is to develop compression coated tablet of ketoprofen as a pulsatile release system for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: Core tablets of ketoprofen were prepared using the wet granulation method and evaluated for appearance, hardness, friability, weight variation, thickness, disintegration time and % drug release. Core tablets were coated with Eudragit S100 and Eudragit L100 by compression coating method to achieve desired lag time. The blends of core and coating materials were evaluated for bulk density, tapped density, Hausner’s ratio, % Compressibility index and angle of repose. Compression coated tablets were evaluated for appearance, hardness, friability, weight variation, thickness and % drug release. Results: Core tablets, as well as compression coated tablets, showed acceptable Pharmaco technical properties. Optimized core tablets were disintegrated within 15s due to the effectiveness of super disintegrant, sodium starch glycolate. Dissolution studies of compression coated tablets in media with different pH (1.2, 6.8, and 7.4) showed that drug release could be modulated by changing the concentration of EudragitL100 and Eudragit S100. The optimized batch exhibited 80% drug release up to 6 h with a 4 h lag time. Stability study of the optimized formulation indicated no significant change in appearance, physical parameters, drug content and drug release profile at accelerated conditions for two months. Conclusion: compression coated tablet of ketoprofen was successfully developed to achieve burst drug release after specific lag time. Keywords: Chronomodulated drug delivery, Pulsatile release, Compression coated tablets, Lag time