<i>In vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> characterization of fast dissolving tablets containing gliquidone–pluronic solid dispersion

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to increase the dissolution rate of gliquidone using its solid dispersions with pluronic F-68 by solvent evaporation method. The solid dispersion of the drug with pluronic at ratio 1:3 showed the highest dissolution efficiency (50.7%) after 10 min, so it was incorporated in fast dissolving tablets. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to study the interaction between gliquidone and pluronic in the solid state. The FTIR spectroscopic studies revealed no chemical interaction between the drug and pluronic, while the DSC results indicated the amorphous state of gliquidone in the solid dispersion. A 3² full factorial design was used to study the effect of varying concentrations of croscarmellose and sodium starch glycolate as superdisintegrants on the disintegration time and the percentage released after 10 min. The optimized formula showed a disintegration time of 39.1 ± 1.2 s and 85.43% ± 5.16% released after 10 min and was selected for the <i>in-vivo</i> studies in rabbits. The selected formula showed significant enhancement of gliquidone bioavailability, about 1.8 times compared with the commercial Glurenor tablets.